• 



.JJjyg>'lL!El,|i I'll"! 



Danish Gf^ammaf^ 



-HCyr»- 



Groth 



DX.HEATH&Ca 



i -^., 



LiBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



Shelf. "B-HJ U\ 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



Ibeatb's flDo^ent XanouaQc Series 



A DANISH 



Dano-Norwegian Grammar 



p. GROTH, A.M. 



* 



BOSTON, U.S.A. 

D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS 

I 894 



'1> & 



■'-■i 



CorYRIGHT, 1894 

By p. GROTH 



All rights reserved 



3ZJ3I 



PRESS OF 

^nrl^fotU ant) Cl^uir^iU 
BOSTON, U.SA 



PR K^ K^^C B. 



A S a teacher of the Danish or Norwegian language to 
English speaking students I had very often felt the 
lack of a reliable grammar of the language, and finally I made 
up my mind to try to supply the want. Special conditions 
of which I have not been master have caused the time inter- 
vening between the writing of this book and its appearance 
in print to be a good deal longer than it ought to have been, 
i. e. about two years, and meanwhile there have appeared a 
couple of Danish or Norwegian grammars that may deserve 
this name. 

The reason why I have given my book the somewhat cum* 
bersome title of a ^' Danish and Dano-Norwegian Grammar" 
will be apparent from the *' Introduction." As regards the 
use of the book I would advise the student first to make up 
his mind, whether he wants to study the pure Danish language 
or the Dano-Norwegian language. This must to a large ex- 
tent depend upon personal and practical considerations. The 
tourist, the commercial traveller, the merchant may need to 
study one branch of the language or the other ; the literary 
student may wish to acquaint himself with genuine Danish, or 
he may wish to study the vernacular of BJ0rnson and Ibsen. 
As a general rule I would say that the Danish pronunciation of- 
fers, with its ''glottal catch" and other peculiarities, more diffi- 
culties to the English "speaking student than the Norwegian 
pronunciation. 



II 



The student who wants to study Danish must pass by 
S8 81 to 146, while those who want to study Norwegian 
must pass directly from §§8 to 81. Besides, in the "Etymo- 
logy," attention is often called to certain rules as being pecu- 
liar to Danish, others to Norwegian. The student must 
select those he needs, and pass by those that refer to the 
language that he is not studying. 

I have added some " Exercises " at the end of the book in 
order to help the student fix in his memory those rules and 
paradigms which he must know before he can, with any de- 
gree of success, commence reading the language. For those 
who wish more exercises I can recommend Mr. K. Beekke s 
excellent Lmehog i EngeUk which is intended for Norwegian 
students of English, but may also to a certain extent be used 
the other wav. The student may find an abundance of good 
readers prepared for use in the Danish ^^^ Norwegian 
schools I mention only Otto Borchsenius and E. Wmkel 
Horn's i)«n./b Lmelog, Eriksen and Paulsen's Norsk Lwse- 
ioa Pauss and Lassen's Lmeiog i Modersmaalet, each^ot 
them in several volumes. As Dictionaries can be tlioroughly 
recommended: A. Larsen^, Dansk- Norsk Engelsk Ordbog 
and Rosing's Engehk-Dansk Ordhog. To those who want to 
study the Norwegian form of the language I would recommend : 
I Brynildsen's Norsk- engelsk or dbog and the same author s 
edition of Geelmuyden's Engelsk-norsk ordbog. The tourist 
will find Bennett's P^r«..5oo/fc, Olsvig's Words and Phrases 
and the same author's Yes and No valuable guides to famili- 
arity with the peculiarities of the language. 

This Grammar, besides being based upon my own studies 
and knowledge of the language, rests, as far as Danish is con^ 
cLed chiefly upon the works of Sweet, Dahlernp and 
Tesverlen, lessen, Bojesen, LefoUi and B. T DaU, and tor 



Ill 

the Norwegian upon the grammars of Lbkhe and Hofgaard 
and the treatises of Stormy Western^ Brekke and /. Aars. To 
those who desire a more detailed knowledge of the language 
than can be had from this book I would recommend Poestion's 
Danische Sprache and the same author's Lehriuch der Nor- 
luegischen Sprache; both these books are excellent, and especi- 
ally the Danish Grammar has often been of use to me in 
writing this book. 

The several species of types that are peculiar to the 
Scandinavian languages compelled me to have this book set in 
a Danish Newspaper printing office in New York City, not prop- 
erly equipped for a work of this kind. On that account the ty- 
pographical appearance of the book is not in every respect as 
good as I would like it to have been. Deserving of special 
mention is the fact that the types 05 and ce are everywhere in 
the book used promiscuously to represent the latter character 
except in §92 where the sign (b is used a couple of times to 
denote and explain a variety of the sound of b. 

Finally I must acknowledge my debt of gratitude to Pro- 
fessor Dr. JoH. feTORM of the University of Christiania for 
kindly sending me those advance sheets of the 2d edition of 
his "Englische Philologie" that were of use to me- in preparing 
this grammar, to my honored friend Professor A. H. Palmer 
of Yale University for kindly reading through the larger part 
of the book in manuscript and making valuable suggestions, 
and, last but not least, to Mr. Chr. B0RS, late Consul of 
Norway and Sweden at New York, without whose munifici- 
ence, proverbial among Norwegians in New York, this book 
would never have seen the light of day. 

Brooklyn, N, F., August 25th, 189 Jf,. 



Contents. 



Page. Page. 

Introduction 1 — 2 

The Alphabet 3 

Danish Sounds 4—29 

Vowels 4 

Diphthongs 11 

Consonants 11 

Colloquial forms 21 

Accent 21 

Sentence accent 25 

Glottal Stop 26 

Quantity 28 

Norwegian Sounds 30 — 65 

Vowels 30 

Diphthongs 35 

Consonants 36 

Accent , 52 

Abbreviations 58 

Quantity , 63 

Vowel Changes in inflection and word formation 66 

Etymology 67—131 

Articles — genders 67 

Nouns 70—83 

Gender of the nouns 70 

Formation of the possessive 76 

Syntactical remarks about the use of the pos- 
sessive 77 

Formation of the plural 78 



¥1 

Page. Page. 

The Adjectives 83—91 

Declension of the adjectives 83 

Use of the definite form of the adjectives 86 

Agreement of the adjective Tvith its noun 87 

Comparison of adjectives 87 

Inflection and use of the comparative and super- 
lative 90 

The Pronouns 91—99 

The rersonal pronouns 91 

The reflexive and leciprocal pionuuns 92 

The possessive pronouns 93 

The demonstrative pronouns 94 

The interrogative pronouns 95 

The relative pronouns 96 

The indefinite pronouns 98 

The Numerals 99—102 

The Yerbs 102—121 

Weak verbs 104 

Strong verbs* • * * 107 

Irregular verbs 113 

The use of the numbers 114 

The use of the tenses 114 

The use of the modes 116 

The passiv^e voice 119 

Reflexive and impersonal verbs 121 

The Adverbs 122—124 

The Prepositions 124 — 1 6 

The Conjunctions 126—128 

The Interjections 128—129 

The order of the words in the sentence 129—130 

The Punctuation 131 

Exercises 132—143 



INTRODUCTION. 



SCANDINAVIAN LANGUAGES. HISTORY OF THE 
DANO-NORWEGIAN LANGUAGE. 



1. The Danish and Dano-Norwegian language belongs to the 
Scandinavian group of the Teutonic languages. This group com- 
prises, in modern times, besides the language already mentioned, the 
Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic and Faroish languages. 

2. The earliest specimens of Scandinavian language are found in 
the Runic inscriptions, written in the earlier Runic characters and dat- 
ing as far back as the 4th century A. D. In these inscriptions the 
similarity with the other earlier specimens of Teutonic languages (espe- 
cially Gothic) is more prominent than the peculiar Scandinavian charac- 
teristics. 

3. During the Yiking Age (750 — 1000 A. D.) the language of the 
Scandinavian nations underwent a very decided change. The Scandi- 
navian peculiarities distinguishing the language from the other Teu- 
tonic idioms appear fully developed, and by and by dialectic differences 
between the languages of the several Scandinavian nations commence 
to assert themselves. 

4. In the Middle Ages the Danish and Swedish languages form one 
group that may be designated as the Eastern group of the Scandi- 
navian languages, having in common the monophthongification of origi- 
nal diphthongs, while the Danish language had a development of its 
own in the direction of substituting voiced stops (mediae) or even open 
consonants (spirants) for voiceless stops (tenues, hard consonants) after 



2 i:n^troductio]S". 

a long vowel at the end of a word or syllable. The Norwegian language 
and its offspring the Icelandic tongue, on the other hand, form the 
Western group o:^ the Scandinavian languages, having in common 
the retention of the old diphthongs as diphthongs, but with some 
changes peculiar to each of the two languages. These two languages 
have, in common with the Swedish, retained the old voiceless stops. 

5. In the Middle Ages we have the most valuable literature in the 
Norwegian-Icelandic language, consisting chiefly of the Eddie 
songs, the Scaldic art poetry, the Sagas and the Laws, while 
the chief products of the earliest Danish literature are the provincial 
laws and popular songs (folk lore), the latter not being reduced to 
writing until later. 

6. When Norway in the latter part of the 14th century was united 
with Denmark, Norwegian literature fell into decay and Danish grew 
more and more to be the official language used in Court Documents, 
Eoyal Ordinances etc. In the latter part of the 17th century Norwe- 
gian authors again began to take an active part in the literature; but 
their language was Danish, this language having come to be adopted 
by the educated classes of the Norwegian people and chiefly by the 
inhabitants of the towns and cities, while the Norwegian language 
still remained the spoken idiom of most of the rural population. Still 
the language spoken and written by the educated classes in Norway 
was never pure Danish. Norwegian authors have always used some 
native words, taken from the rural dialects, in their writings, and 
while the official and professional people during the union with Den- 
mark affected as far as possible a correct Danish pronunciation, the 
tendency in Norway now, even though it be unconscious, is to natio- 
nalize the language more and more. This tendency is chiefly notice- 
able in the pronunciation (retaining the voiceless stops, tenues), but 
it also appears in the grammar, especially the syntax, and in the 
vocabulary. 

7. Thus it is that we have at the present time two kinds of Danish 
language, the pureDanish used in Denmark and by Danish authors, 
and the Dano-Norwegian used in Norway by most of the educated 
classes, especially in the cities, and by most of the Norwegian authors. 
Still it should be noted that the language s p o k e n in Norway even by 
educated people is far more national in its character than the one used 
in writing. 



THE ALPHABET. 3 

THE ALPHABET. 

8. The alphabet used in Danish and Dano-JSTorwegian lite- 
rature has the same letters as the English alphabet and besides 
these the signs M (se) and (0, 0, ). As for the sounds 
indicated by these letters see § § 12, 13, 25, 26, 82, 91. 

The names of the vowels are represented by their sounds. 

The names of the consonants b, c, d, etc. are be, ce, de etc. (pro- 
nounce e like a in name.) Ti and k are called h a a and k a a {aa pron. 
with a sound between 6> in h ol e and a in call), j is called jod (yod), g ge 
(pronounced like g in give), w is called "dobbelt ve'' (double v), z zet 
pr. set. 

The Gothic characters are still in very common use, espe- 
cially in newspapers and popular books. These letters have the 
following forms : 



210 


S3b 


Sc 


2)b 


©e 


5f 


®9 


^i) 3i 3i 


a 


b 


c 


d 


e 


f 


g 


li i J 


,^f 


81 


Wm 


iRn 


Oo 


^Jjp 


Qq 


9ir ® f 8 


k 


1 


m 


n 





p 


q 


r s 


%i 


Uu 


9S 


mto 


Xr 


?)t) 


Bs 


2(Sce 2)8 


t 


u 


T 


w 


X 


y 


z 


86 6 



Some authors also employ the sign a, borrowed from the 
Swedish language, to express the same sound as is usually in 
Danish and Dano-Norwegian literature denoted by a a (see 
above). 

Note. — Capital letters are still according to official Danish rules of 
spelling used at the beginning of substantives and adjectives employed 
as substantives, while the official Norwegian orthography only acknowl- 
edges capital letters in proper nouns. A great many Danish authors 
also have done away with capital letters in common nouns. 



The sounds of the Danish and the Dano-Norwegian branches 
of the language are so widely different, that it bas been found 
practical to treat of them in separate chapters. 



DAN^ISH SOUNDS. 



DANISH SOUNDS. 

VOWELS. 

9, Table of Danish vowels classified according to their 
articulation. 

(A period* up in the line after a vowel indicates length of the vowel). 



Back. 


Mixed. 


Front. 




Not 
rounded. 


Rounded. 


Not 
rounded. 


Rounded. 


Not 
rounded. 


Rounded 


W 


Narrow 




U* 






i* 


y 


Wide 




U 






i 


y 





Narrow 




0* 






e* e 


0- 


Wide 












86 





^ 
3 


Narrow 




aa* 






86* 


0* 


Wide 


a 


aa 











[10. For the benefit of those not familiar with the phonetic terms as 
established by Mssrs. Bell, Sweet and others it is here remarked, that 
the terms "Back", ''Mixed" and ''Front" refer to the horizontal arti- 
culation of the tongue, indicating what part of the tongue has to be 
raised from its normal position in order to form such an articulation as 
to produce the vowel in question. Intermediate positions between 
those mentioned are designated by the names "advanced" or "outer" 
and "retracted" or "inner". 

The words "High"^ "Mid" and "Low" refer to the vertical posi- 
tion of the tongue. An intermediate position between two of these 
positions may be described as a lowering of the position immediately 
above or a raising of the one below. 



DANISH SOUIS^DS. 5 

The terms * 'Narrow" and "Wide" refer to the shape of the tongue. 
**In forming "narrow" sounds there is a feeling of tenseness in that part 
of the tongue where the sound is formed, the surface of the tongue 
being made more convex than in its natural "wide" shape in which it is 
relaxed and flattened", (Sweet). 

' 'Rounding is a contraction of the mouth cavity by lateral compres- 
sion of the cheek passage and narrowing of the lip aperture" (hweet).] 

In Danish pronunciation of rounded vowels the rounding is accom 
panied by a projection of the lips so as to increase the length of the 
mouth cavity. 

Note 1. — The articulation of Danish a is really advanced back, that 
of e raised mid. The vowels aa (a) and o are both pronounced with the 
same rounding as o and u, respectively, in common European pronun- 
ciation. 

Note 2. — It should at once be noticed that in Danish pronunciation 
the lips play a more prominent part than in English, that the upper 
lip is never drawn so close to the teeth as in English pronunciation, 
and that the tongue normally has a more advanced and flattened posi- 
tion than with English speaking people. 



SOUKD YALUE OF DAIN^ISH YOWELS A:N^D THEIR 

GRAPHIC REPRESEi^TATIOK IK COMMOlSr 

ORTHOGRAPHY. 



11. A has a sound very near that of English ^ in f a t h e r, 
although not quite as deep (somewhat palatalized). Ex. long: 
Gade street, J 5^ monkey ; short : Hat\\2X^ Ta^ thanks. 

Note. The long <x has in the vulgar Copenhagen pronunciation a 
sound very near English a in f a t prolonged The foreigner must avoid 
imitating this pronunciation. 

12, <^ (long) has the same sound as English ai in a i r ; Ex. : 
Hmr army, vcBve to be, svmve to hover. 

This sound is in orthography represented by e in: hedre better, der 
there, lier here, ^r^s their, ere are, regjere to rule, Regjering government 



6 DANISH SOUi^DS. 

(and upond the whole before — r), Legeme body, sptte (pr. sjaete) sixth, 
tjene to serve, fjer{d)3 fourth, Stedet the place, udstede to issue, tilstede 
to permit and other derivatives of Sted; Chef chief. 

13- ^ (short) has the same sound as English e in men; 
Ex. : hmslig ugly, Iwgge to lay. 

This sound is in orthography as a rule represented by the sign e 
which is pronounced in this way in most cases when it is short and at 
the same time stressed ; Ex. : denne this, Yen friend, elske to love, Ende 
end, svensk Swedish. It is written ce when derived from a word with long 
sound of 6B, written se, or from word with <x, aa or ei in the root; Ex.: 
kmrlig affectionate (from kcer dear), falde to fell (from F'ald fall), ncegte to 
deny (from ne] no); Haender hands (from Haand hand); furthermore in 
ProRst priest and some other words. 

14- ^ represents the sound of French e in e t e or of Eng- 
lish fi^ in name, but without the diphthongic element of the 
latter (more like the common American pronunciation of a). 
This is the common sound of e when it is long (except before 
r, see § 12); Ex. : se to see, Reb rope, Sues score. 

When a word in one form has a long e, then it, as a rule, retains 
the same quality of the sound, even if the vowel in other forms of the 
word is shortened: liedt hot (neuter oilied), M^ searched (partcp. of lede). 
The short variety of the same sound is also found in the unstressed 
prefixes be — and ge — : hestemme to decide; Gemal consort; furthermore 
ill some monosyllables ending in — d or — -y: Bed bed (in garden), Fjed 
step, Drev pinion (but Sted see § 12). 

I 5. This sound {e) is represented by the orthographical sign 
of i in a great many cases where the vowel is short ; especially 
is i pronounced this way before mm^ rnp^ nt^ ng^ nk^ besides 
some other cases; Ex.: i^'sl; fish (pron. fesk), ^^^^ to fish, oHdse to 
scratch, Pligt duty, ml will, Spil play, Pille pill, digte to make poetry, 
lidt a little (pron. let, but lidt suffered [partcp. of lide] pron lit), midt 
middle (pron. met, but mit mine pron. mit), Skin appearance, 2in tin, 
in the prefix mis, mishruge to misuse: Misda^der malefactor; unstressed in 
the derivative endings — ling, — ning: Yndling favorite, Slcegtning relative. 
Some words may be spelt with either i or e: tusinde and tusende thousand, 



DANISH SOUNDS. 7 

JErinde and jErende errand (these two words may also be pronounced 
with ^). 

16. ^ has a sound approaching that of French e in que, 
English i in b i r d. This sound only occurs in unaccented 
syllables, and its orthographic sign is e. Ex. : Gave gift, 
Gade street. 

Some words may he pronounced and spelt with or without 9 (e); 
Ex.: tusind and tusinde thousand, hundred and liundrede hurdred, 
lErind or lErinde errand, Billed{e) picture, Emhedie) office, ATheid{e) 
work, Legemie) body, Madam{e), Himmerig{e) kingdom of heaven, Tind{e) 
peak; in the words Herre Master, Frue Mistress, Madame, Konge king, 
Fyrste prince, Greve count the final e is omitted before a name or another 
title; Herre is then spelt Hr.\ Hr. Petersen Mr. P. 

17. Immediately after another stressed vowel d is often 
slurred in the pronunciation, so as almost to disappear : trodde 
believed. In some cases it is written but not pronounced at 
all ; it can never be pronounced immediately after a single vowel 
with glottal catch (see § 76) nor after a short stressed vowel. 
In some cases there may be a choice between a long stressed 
vowel with pronounced d and a short vowel without d. The 
former is then used in more select language, and especially is 
the retaining of d common in the passive form ; Ex. : slaaes to 
be beaten, but slaas to fight, slaaet and slaaH beaten, gaaet 
and gaaH gone. After i and u e \^ commonly retained (but 
iefri liberate, forny renew, without e because of glottal catch). 

An e is sometimes written without being pronounced, either to in- 
dicate length of the preceding vowel or to distinguish between different 
words of the same sound or words that although differing in sound 
would according to common rules have to be written in the same way. 
This 6 is called mute; Ex.: saa{e) saw, to distinguish it from seoa so; 
fo{€)r (long o) went to distinguish from/<?r, prp. for (short open a). 

18. i has, when long (i*), about the same sound as Eng- 
lish 66 in s e e ; Ex. : Mine mien, Piie pipe, smile to smile. 

When short it has the same sound as English i in fill; 
this sound occurs a) when the same word in another form or 



8 DAi^ISH SOUIS"DS. 

when the root word, from which the word in question is 
formed, has long i : mit my (neut. of min), stTi{d)t fought, prtcp. of 
stride, hm{d)tG to whitewash, derived from livid white; b) before Id or lt\ 
Slid liermg, Milt Yn.i\i\ c) in some other words; Ex.: Kridt chalk, Md 
here (hither), Fis Jc whi-p, grisk greedy; d) in unstressed syllables; Ex.: 
Bival rival, imod against. 

The orthographic sign of this vowel is i, except in de they, 
Be you, where it is e. 

19. aa (a) has a sound similar to English « in call, but 
closer. The long sound is as a rule WTitten aa : ilaa blue, 
Naade grace; but it is in some words denoted by o before v 
(except in diphthongs, see § 28) and g; Ex.: Bog book; Brog 
breeching, hroget variegated, Mog prudent, Icoge to cook, Krog hook, 
kroget crooked, lom to promise, Svoger brother-in-law, Drog a good-for- 
nothing, Fjog\^o6hj, Sprog language, Jb^/ expedition; unstressed in Orlog 
(naval) warfare, OHov leave of absence (in the six last named words the 
vowel may be pronounced long and short); furthermore in Jivor where, 
Torsdag Thursday, horte away, Vorte wart, wre ours, otte eight, (pron. 
a-te, but the ordinal ottende the eighth with short vowel), and unstressed 
Alvor earnest. 

20. The short a-sound is as a rule denoted by the letter 
o; Ex.: Lod \ ounce; Boile bubble, Borg castle, hoppe to 
jump, Kro2:) body, lohke to allure, vor our. 

The short sound of a is denoted by aa in some words formed by 
derivation or inflection of words with a long aa, and besides in some 
other words; Ex.: Uaat blue (neut. of hlaa), "oaadt wet (neut. of vaad), 
Skaansel mercy (from shaane to treat with leniency), Aadsel corpse, 
Aand spirit, Aande breath, Baand ribbon, Flaad flux, Haand hand, 
X<2(2(^ fleece, laadden fleecy, en Maatte a mat, BaadpvL^ (but Baad council, 
long aa), saa so (when unstressed), Saald siev^e (also vfritien Sold), Vaand 
wand, Yaande jeopardy; and with secondary accent Under saat a sub- 
ject, usaattes on bad terms. 

21. is a sound peculiar to the Scandinavian languages, 
midway between English o in t o e and oo in to o, but nearer 
the latter ; and it is spoken with the same rounding of the lips 



DAis^ISH SOUNDS. 9 

as the English oo. The soand of o when long is in orthogra- 
phy represented by o, which letter when representing a long 
vowel generally denotes this sound; Ex.: stor large, Blod 
blood, god good, Sko shoe, Bro bridge (as for o with sound 
of long a see § 19). 

22. The short sound of o is represented in orthography by 
in the following cases: l) in words formed by inflection, derivation 
or composition from a root word or form with long o\ Ex.: nordish 
Northern (from nor(d), Gods goods (from god good), (but godt neuter of 
god, pron. gat); 2) in unstressed first syllables before a single consonant: 
Hotel, Koloni, hrodere to embroider (also in Rospital, Osteri) ; 3) in the 
following words: Kost broom, ond bad, Onsdag Wednesday, Ost cheese, 
sort black, Torden thunder. 

23. Otherwise the short sound of o is represented in com- 
mon orthography by u^ which sign when representing a short 
vowel usually indicates this sound (except in the cases stated 

in § 24) ; Ex.: Dug dew (but Dvg table cloth with w)\ amulc nice, Buk 
he-goat, lulcTce close, slukke extinguish, Hul hole, ^t^m foolish, stum mute. 
Hummer lobster; unstressed infordum formerly. Some words may be 
spelt with either u or 6>, the pronunciation in both cases being o; Ex.: 
Kunst and Konst art, Kummen and Kommen caraway, Kuffert and Koffert 
traveller's trunk. 

24. '^ represents a sound similar to the English oo, but 
closer; Ex.: Hus house, Iruge to use, ud out. A short 
sound of u^ similar to English u in full, occurs in some cases : 
1) in words derived from words or forms with long ti or y; 
Ex. : irugt parte, of bruge to use, skudt parte, of shyde to 
shoot ; 2) in unstressed syllables ; Ex. : ugjbrlig impossible, 
Musih^ Uniform \ 3) when u is followed by M, It or sh\ Ex. : 
fuld fuW^ Guld gold, suite to starve, fuske to bungle; 4) in 
the words : Krudt gunpowder, Lut lute, lurvet shabby, and 
some others (about u in other cases representing the sound of 
see § 23). 

25. has a sound like French eu in peu\ the English 



10 da:n'ish sounds. 

language has no corresponding sound (to produce the sound 
one should say a as in English fate and at the same time 
hold the lips in almost the whistling position); Ex.: Fodsel 
birth, B0nder peasants, S&ster sister, St0d blow, Iwre to hear, 
l0d sounded (impf. of lyde)^ S0IV silver, l0s loose, Pr0ve trial, 
B0ger books. The sound of is represented by the letter 
(0) always when it is long, and sometimes when short. But 
the short sound of is as a rule in writing represented by the 
sign of y ; Ex. : Tryh pressure, Stykke piece, dryppe to drip, 
dyrhe to cultivate, Fyrste a prince, kysse to kiss, Lygte lan- 
tern, Lyhhe fortune, Nytte utility, sTcylle to rinse, synke to 
sink. 

26- ^ has a more open sound, like French gi^ in peuple, 
German o. (Pronounce English a in fat with the lips in a 
whistling position) ; Ex. : forste first, Berommelse fame, stbrre 
larger, Bjorn bear, Bonner prayers. Son son, forsoimne to 
neglect. 

Note. In Danish spelling there is not as a rule made a consistent 
distinction between the signs o and 0, most writers using hoth signs 
promiscuously or either one exclusively.*) o is as a rule used before m, 
n ending a word, nn, rr, rn. (As for the sound and use of o as first 
part of a diphthong see § 28). 

27. y has the sound of French u, German ii; the English 
language has no corresponding sound (to produce it the tongue 
takes the position for i, the lips that for u). The letter y 
represents this sound 1) when it is long; Ex. : flyde to flow, 
adlyde to obey, sy to sew, Ojeniryn eyebrow, Tyv thief, Sky 
cloud ; 2)when short, a) in case the root word or form has 
long y\ Ex. : dylt neuter af dyl deep, nyt neuter af ny new; 
b) in unstressed syllables; Ex. : Hypotliek mortgage. Hyperbola 



*) As for consistency in pronunciation the Danish grammarian Dr. Jessen says, that 
it is not easy to find two persons who ajrree on this point. 



DANISH SOUNDS. 11 

Fysik ; c) when y is followed by the combinations Id or It; 
Ex. : fylde to fill, Stylte stilt; d) in some other words; Ex. : 
Frygt fright, styg ngly, tyk thick. (As for the letter y re- 
presenting the sound of see § 25.) 



DANISH DIPHTHONGS. 



28. Danish spelling has the following Diphthongs: 
av^ oVy cev^ bv and aj^ ej^ oj\ oj. 

The consonant part of these diphthongs has in spite of 
the peculiar Danish spelling with v and/ the sounds of w and 
i^). In the diphthongs of the w-series the vowel part retains 
its peculiar sound {a^ 0, ^, 0) ; Ex. : Havn harbor, hoevne to 
revenge, ncBvne to name, hovne to swell, Hdvl plane, Stovle 
boot, Vrovl nonsense ; but in the i-series a and e are pro- 
nounced as a, and as a sound approaching a ; aj and ej are 
pronounced like English y in m y, oj and oj like English oy in 
boy; vaje to wave and veje to weigh pronounced in the same 
manner; hbje to bend and Boje a buoy, both pronounced alike. 
Another sign for the diphthong ej is eg; Ex. :jeg pr. jaj ; Vegne 
in allevegne^ everywhere (pron. vaino, e. g. rhyme : Vegne, Hy- 
giajne). 16 is now spelt sejsten, formerly sexten. Nbgle (pr. 
nailo) key; Vindieittel (pron. venbaitl) braggart; but in Zeus, 
Europa etc. eu is pronounced bv. 



DANISH CONSONANTS. 



29. The difference between tenues (p, t, k) and mediae 
(b, d, g) is not so much dependent upon the circumstance of 



*) Some Danish grammarians think that the Danish diphthongs really have the con- 
sonants V and j for their second part. 



12 DANISH SOUi^DS. 

the former being voiceless, the latter voiced., as is the case in 
English. But the Danish tenues are followed by a voiceless 
breath, thereby becoming aspirates. Thus the energy of ex- 
piration becomes the chief distinguishing feature between 
Danish tenues and mediae. 

In some cases the tenues are written where the sound is 
really nearer to that of the mediae; thus Nor dens Slender (the 
ships of the North) and Nordens Glider (the gods of the North) 
are both pronounced in almost the same manner [sguder)^ i. 
e. the aspiration of tenues does not take place after s and thus 
the chief characteristic of the hard sound disappears. The 
same rule applies to shut consonants written double in the 
middle of words, pp^ tt^ kk representing about the same sound 
as hb^ dd^ gg; Ex.: tykke thick, plur., and tygge to chew, 
Bcekke rivulets, and iegge both, Lapper patches, and Labher 
paws, have the same sound, something between tenues and 
mediae. 

30- V has the hard aspirated sound of p-h (not ph=f) in 
the beginning of syllables : Poere pear, Penge money. Parade, 

The sound oip is written h before s and terminative t {te), the long 
root vowel at the same time being shortened; Ex.: Ribs currants, Strihs 
flogging, dyht deep (neut. of dyh), drcebte killed, impf. of drcebe, tabt 
lost, partcp. of tabe to lose. 

31. 1) After s, 2) when written double (pp) and 3) at the 
end of words the sign^ represents the sound midway between 
p and J, or a hard S; Ex. ; spare to save (sb), pippe to peep 
up (pron. p-hibbo), op up, pron. obb (bb in these cases indi- 
cating the hard sound of b). 

32. In some foreign words ph indicates the sound of / (see § 36). 
Pharisceer, Philosophi (more commonly now spelt with f). In Ps in 
Greek words p is mute: Psalme psalm (also written Salme); in others 
like Psykologi psychology. Psalter, Pseudonym, Ptolemceus it is sounded 
by some people, omitted by others. 



DANISH sou:^rDS. 13 

33. ^ i^ pronounced as the voiced labial stop (Engl, b) 1) 
in the beginning of a word or a syllable ; Ex. : bade to bathe, 
Brok hernia, Bloeh ink, Taabe fool ; 2) at the end of a word 
or a syllable after a long vowel; Ex.: Gab gap. Stab stoff, 
Daab baptism. 

34. The sound midway between b and^ is represented by 
the sign of 5, 1) at the end of a word or syllable after a short 
vowel; Ex. : Lab paw, Grib vulture; 2) when written double 
between two vowels : Labber paws, Ribbe rib. 

35. m like English m: Mad food, ham him; double m 
(mm) pronounced short: ]co7n{m)e to come. 

36. /is a labiodental voiceless open consonant and has a 
sound similar to English f : faa few, Shuffe drawer, Ruf 
deckhouse. 

In some words the sound of / is represented in writing by v: thus 
in the beginning of the foreign words: Verms varnish, Viol, molet, Vio- 
lin, and also sometimes before t as in grovt rough (neut. of grov), havt 
had (prtcp. of haw) pron. groft, haft, which now also is the official way 
of spelling. 

Note. Stiff ader stepfather, pronounced stefar, so also other com- 
pounds with stif- step- pronounced ste. 

37. -y is a labiodental open voiced consonant similar in 
pronunciation to English v; it occurs in the beginning of 
words and after a consonant, after a long vowel and in for- 
eign words; Ex.: Fa^z(cZ) water, Svcerd ^^Yordi^ evig eternal, 
lavt\ow (neuter). Avis newspaper. 

In the pronunciation of the Copenhagen dialect v often 
takes the place of b after a vowel ; l0be pron. l0ve, Kbbenliavn 
pron. K0venha\n; in some words both forms are written pro- 
miscuously: Knebel and Knevel^ hnevle and hnebh gag and 
to gag. 

The sound of v is written / in af prsep. of, pron. av, aw (see 
I 28), a. 



14 DANISH SOUNDS. 

38- ^OY V being the sign of the w-sound in diphthongs, 
see § 28. Some words may be pronounced both with diph- 
thong (the yowel preceding v then being short) and with a long 

vowel and v\ Ex.: Hav sea pron. Ha*v or Haw, Shove forests pron. 
Ska've or Skawe, oxer oyqy, pron. a'ver or awer. The vowels a and o 
are mostly short before v (implying the diphthougic pronunciation), but 
there are some exceptions: h^a'v brave, Gra'v grave, Kra'v claim, la'x 
low, ga'v gave (impf . of give), gro'v dug (impf. af grave). 

39. Colloquially t' is often dropped after I: hal{v) half, 
tol{v) 12, S0l{v) silver; after along vowel: hra^v) brave, ga{v) 
gave, gi{v) give, iU{v) become, ble{v) became. Between two 
vowels, the second of which is o, v is often dropped together 
with the following o; Ex.: ha{ve) to have, gi{ve) to give, 
gi(ve)r gives, Ui{ve)r becomes, Hoved head, pron. Ho8a in its 
original meaning, but Hove6 in compound words used figura- 
tively: Hovedsag matter af chief importance, Hovedstad capi- 
tal, ha{ve) to have, imperf. pron. ha8e written liavde. 

40. t an aspirated English t (t-h, but not an open (spi- 
rantic) sound like English th) ; Ex. : Tag roof, ti ten. After 
s the aspiration does not take place, so st sounds almost like 
sd: Sted iplaoe^ pron. Sdeb, Also tt sounds almost like a d, 
but without voice : moette ^atis&ed (plur.), pron. mae'da (see 
§ 39). 

41. The sound of t is in Danish spelling in some words rendered 
by ^7i in conformity with the old pronunciation; Ex.: ^7z,^ (conjunction) 
for; Thing diet (to distinguish it in writing from Ting thing). Also in 
words of Greek origin: Theater, Ihrone, Theori. 

42. ^^ is at the end of the unstressed syllable in words of 
two syllables or more pronounced as a soft 8 (see § 46) ; espe- 
cially in participles and words with the definite article; Ex. : 
iojet bent (bojeS), Unset (9) the house. But in foreign words 
with the stress upon the second syllable t is pronounced as t: Sermet 
napkin. 



DANISH SOUKDS. 15 

43- t is written but not pronounced in adverbs ending 
in igt\ Ex.: tiideli{gt) plainly; in the article and pronoun 
de{t), 

44. In foreign words ti before a vowel as a rule is pronounced ih 
tsi\ Ex.: partiel, Kwtient, Differentiering differentiation; but the 
ending t ion is pronounced as sjon: Nation pron. Nasjon, Motion exer- 
cise, pron. Mosjon. 

45. d bas a sound like English d^ but less voiced, 1) in 
the beginning of words: Dal valley, Doh dock, din thine; 2) 
in the middle and at the end of words after a consonant (if 
not mute (see § 47) ; Ex. : Olding old man, Foroeldre parents, 
^^r^ birth, Z^er^Z learned ; 3) between two vowels, when the 
word is of foreign origin or a proper noun: Soda^ Adam^ 
Edda. 

46. The sign d also represents an open consonant with a 
sound similar to that of English soft th in father; in pro- 
nouncing this "soft" d (phonetic sign S) the tip of the 
tongue is allowed to remain in the lower part of the mouth, 
while the front of the tongue is raised towards the gums and 
the breath is gently squeezed between the tongue and the 
gums. This sound occurs : 

1) in the middle of words between two vowels (also when written 
double: Padde toad, Kladde rough-draught; but Bredde breadth and 
Yidde width, have closed dy, Ex. : hede to beg, gvcude to cry, weep, Naade 
grace, Maade manner; 2) in the middle of words after a vowel before j, 
1, m, n, r and the genitive S) Ex,: dadle to reproach, Sedler bills, rodme 
to blush, Icrydre to spice; 3) at the end of a word after a vowel; Ex.: 
Gud God, Stud bullock, Vid wit. Also when ending the first part of a 
compound word, even if the second part begins with a hard consonant; 
Ex.: Blodtah loss of blood, udsat exposed. 

47. 6? is written but not pronounced (mute) 1) in most 
cases after I and n\ Ex. : Gicl{d) gold, Il{d) fire, smcBl{d)e to 
crack (a whip), 81cul{d)er shoulder, liol(d)e to hold, Haan{d) 
hand, Venin{d)e lady friend. 



16 da:n'ish sou:n^ds. 

Note, d is pronounced after I and n a) in derivative adjectives 
ending in — ig and— elig; Ex.: mandig mdinixil, sandelig truthfully; 
b) when followed by r; Ex.: forandre to change, Mndre to prohibit, 
Forc^ldre parents; c) in the ending — ende; Ex.: Imende reading, 
Tidende news; d) in some specific words: Olding old man, /Elde age, 
VcBlde power, Bande gang. Blonde lace, Grande neighbor, Kunde cus- 
tomer; and in foreign words: Indien East India, Cylinder, Geloinder 
bannisters. {Ynde grace, charm, pron. Onde, but ynde to favor, 'pron. 
onne). 

2) After r when the j^receding vowel is long; Ex.: Bord 
table (pron. Bor), Or(d) word, Jorul) earth (sometimes on the pulpit and 
in similar style pronounced Jord with short o and audible d); jor{d)et 
earthy, without d, jordet buried, with d. But when the preceding 
vowel is short d is pronounced after r\ Fcerd voyage, and fmrdes to 
travel, (but paafmr{d)e abroad, afoot), Byrd birth, Byrde burden. 

Note. In nordisk northern, the d is pronounced but in Isorden it 
is not unless when signifyirfg the three Scandinavian countries; nor{d)en- 
for to the north of, nor{d)enfra from the north etc. 

3) Before an — s (not being the genitive ending) (i as a 
rule is not pronounced (and it is never pronounced before sk 
or between n and s) ; ie{d)st best, Lo{cl)s pilot, en Stads of a 
city (gen.), but Sta{d)s state, show. In compound words the —5 
as a rule originally is the genitive ending and therefore the d is pro- 
nounced; Ex.: Daadskraft energy, but Baa{d)smand boatswain, Baa{d)s- 
hage boat-hook; in adverbs which originally are genitive forms dis pro- 
nounced: allesteds etc., everywhere; in tilfreds satisfied d may be pro- 
nounced or not. 

4) Before t: go{d)t neuter of god good, spce{d)t neuter of 
speed tender, et Ri{d)t a ride. 

5) Before k in the words B0[d)ker cooper, Sne{d)keT 
joiner. 

48. In many words of frequent occurrence d between two 
vowels is dropped together with the following vowel when the 
latter is o ; such words are Fader ^ Moder^ Broder pron. Far^ 
Mor^ Bror father, mother, brother ; in compounds also written 



DANISH SOUNDS. 17 

in the short form : Farfader father's father, but Fadermorder 
parricide, Mormor mother's mother, Fjeder or Fjer feather, 
Foder or Foer pron. for, fodder or lining (generally spelt 
with d in the former meaning without it in the latter) ; Spar 
or Spa{de)r spades (in cards) but Spader (spaSor) spades (as a 
tool) ; ha7i Ia{de)r he lets (praes. of la{de) to let), Kloe{de)r 
clothes, but Klceder cloths (generally called Soner Kloede 
kinds of cloth), Lce(de)r leather, d is also in common con- 
versation dropped at the end of many words of common oc- 
currence : go{d) good, lian lo{d) he let, sto{d) stood, v€{d) with, 
jegve{d) I know, (h)va{d) what; also Kjedelkettle, pron. Kele. 

This dropping of the d may be used as a means of distinguishing 
two meanings of one word; thus md wide is pronounced m when signi- 
fying wide in opposition to narrow: et Par m{d)e Buxer a pair of wide 
trousers; but uden mdere without further (ado), og saavidere etc., den 
xide Verden the wide, wide world. 

49. n has the same sound as in English; ng has the same 
sound as English ng in singer; Ex. : Finger finger, Sanger 
singer; the same sound is before h represented by n alone; so 
also in some foreign words before g\ Ex.: sanlce (pron. 
sangke) to gather, Enke (ngk) widow, Evangelium (ngg) 
gospel, TJngarn (ngg) Hungary. 

50. I has the same sound as in English. 

51. s never has the soft (voiced) sound of English s be- 
tween vowels. Ex. : Hus house, sy to sew (s in both cases 
pronounced alike), sj represents one single sound, that of a 
palatalized 5, similar in sound to English sli ; Ex. : sjelden sel- 
dom, Sjcel soul. 

German sch, English sh, French cli, g, j are by the Danes pro- 
nounced with this same sound in words borrowed from those lan- 
guages: Scliak chess, Shavl shawl, Choc onset, Ghocolade, jaloux (sj.) 
genere (sj.) to worry. 

52. y is a palatal open voiced (except after k, p, t) con- 



18 DANISH SOUNDS. 

sonant corresponding in sound to English y before vowels; 
Ex : ja yes, jeg (pron. jai) I. 

For j representing the sound of i in the second part of 
diphthongs see § 28. 

j is often written without being pronounced after Ic and g 
before oe^ b and open e, K{j)cer dear, g{j)erne willingly. 
(According to t*he latest official rules of spelling this j is not 
to be written except in Danish names such as Kj0ge^ Kj^ben- 
liavn^ where the use of j is optional). Before other vowels 
than those mentioned y is pronounced (except in the Copen- 
hagen dialect); Kple dress coat, woman's goi^Ji\ gjor{d)e did. 

53. ^ is an aspirated tenuis; Icalde pron. k-hal.o; the 
aspiration does not take place after s and when written double 
in the middle of words, see § 29. Ikhe not, forming rhyme 
with ligge^ Sukhe sighs (plur.) forming rhyme with Vugge 
cradle, skal shall, pron. sgal. 

54. 5^ is not so distinctly voiced as the corresponding 
English sound, to which it otherwise corresponds, g occurs 
1) in the beginning of words; Ex. : Gave gift, grave to dig, 
glide to slide, give to give; 2) in the middle of words a) when 
written double : Ugge to lie, iegge both ; b) between two vowels 
in foreign words: Agurk cucumber. Cigar \ 3) in the end af 
words after a short vowel : styg ugly, Byg barley. Hug cut, 
blow ; sometimes after a long vowel : JEg egg, definite form 
JEgget^ where the double g (gg) is the sign of this sound and 
does not indicate the shortness of the preceding vowel. 

55. The sign of g also represents an open (spirantic) gut- 
tural voiced sound, similar to German g in legen, Tage. 
This sound never occurs in the beginning of words, but 1) in 
the middle of words between two vowels (but not after a short 



DANISH SOUN"DS. 19 

^ or o), or between a vowel and a voice consonant or two voice 
consonants; 2) at the end of words after a long vowel or 
a voice consonant; Ex. : iage to bake, vige to yield, sluge to 
devour, hogle to charm, vaagne to awaken, Mmngde quantity. 

Note 1. For g serving as orthographical sign of the sound i in 
diphthongs see § 28. 

g represents this sound 1) after the vowels open ^ or o before I oy n 
or before a termination commencing with unstressed a; 2) in the end of 
words after a short open e, m or o; Ex. : Nbgle (oj) key, Egn (aj) region, 
jeg (aj) I, Leg (aj) play, meget (a jot) much, legede (aja) played; 3) in the 
pronouns mig me, dig thee, you, sig him (her) self (pron. maj etc.). 
(Colloquially these pronouns are when unstressed pronounced jo, mo, 
do, so, aud in church oratory and recitations the three last mentioned 
may be pronounced as written mig, dig, sig, but that is never the case 
with jeg). In stead of dejg dough, feig cowardly, sejg tough the official 
orthography now is de], fej, sej, 

Note 2. g serves as the sign of the sound w in diphthongs (see 
§ 28) ^fter the sound a written o) in : Bogn spawn, Sogn parish, 
Vog7i w^agon. (In stead of the former spelling, Laug guild, Sayg saw, 
taug was silent, Ploug plough, Toug rope, there is now generally writ- 
ten Zay, Saii, tav, Plov, Tov. Wholly antiquated is the spelling Hauge 
for Uave garden). 

56. In common every day pronunciation g is often drop- 
ped: 1) after long u in slu{g)e to devour, su{g)e to suck, 
Ku{g)le bullet, Fii[g)l fowl, (the g was in these cases first 
assimilated to u and then dropped) ; 2) after long i in: U{g)e 
straight, direct, Pi{g)e girl, si{g)e to say, Skri{g) cry etc. (g 
in these cases was assimilated to j and then dropped) ; 3) af- 
ter I and r: scel{g)e to sell; spdr{g)e to ask; impf. sol{g)te 
sold, spur{g)te (sporte) asked, dul{g)te concealed ; 4) In ta{ge)r 
takes, ta{ge) to take, to{g) took, slo{g) struck, la[gde) laid, 

57. The r commonly used by educated Danes is the un- 
trilled back or throat r, produced by raising the back of the 
tongue towards the roof of the pharynx ; this r is as a rule 
voiced, but it is voiceless after aspirated stops; it is never vo- 



20 DAi^ISH SOUl^TDS. 

calic like English final r; Ex.: Raab cry, iroet tired, (liaTi) 
l&ber he runs. 

Note. In Jutland and in some other local dialects the r is pro- 
nounced witli a strong trill, either front or uvular; the latter pronun 
ciation is especially employed in the stage and pulpit language. 

B is dropped in the pronunciation of the appellative noun: Ka{T)l a 
man, laborer (in the derivative Kodling, an old woman, r is not even 
retained in writing), but in the proper noun Karl Charles, r retains its 
sound. 

58. h has the same sound as English h; it is pronounced 
before vowels in the beginning of a word or a syllable ; Ex. : 
Jian he, udholde to endure, MobIkb ninny. 

Note 1. In some words h is written before j and v without influ- 
encing the pronunciation: {H)mle rest, {H)jul wheel. 

Note 2. A vowel ending a sentence is in Danish pronounced with 
a peculiar breath that may be compared with an h. This is not indi- 
cated in spelling; m we, pron. (in the position mentioned) vih, rat now, 
pron. nuh. * 

59. G only occurs in foreign words and is pronounced as s and h 
according to the same rules as in English; Ex.: Centrum, Scene, Accent. 

According to the latest official orthography c is only to be used in- 
dicating the sound of Ic before an other c that represents the sound of 
c; in all other cases it is to be replaced by k: Vokal, Konsonant. 

60. ch is in words of Greek origin i3ronounced as k and 
now also officially written that way; it indicates the same 
sound in the proper names Tyrlio and MitJich^ but in words of 
French origin ch is usually pronounced as sj : ChaussS high- 
way, sch in words of German origin is pronounced like Dan- 
ish sj. Instead of a former sch (ch) there is now in many 
words regularly written sk : DrosJce cab, Manshet cuff, Mar- 
skal^ Marskandiser f ripper, ^^'a/t chess, Skatol Gd^hmQi^ Skak. 
shaft, Skallottelbg eschalot. 

61. Q only occurs before v in foreign words, but it is now 
mostly in those of such words as are in popular use replaced 



DANISH SOUNDS 21 

by Ic, Kvinde woman is now only by very oldfashioned 
people spelt Quinde\ Kvartet^ Kvint, 

62. W only occurs in foreign words and has the sound of v. 
Wien Vienna. 

63. X according to the latest rules is to be replaced by Ics in words 
of common use: selcs six, Okse ox. 

64. Z represents the sound of s and is only used in foreign words. 
In words of German origin it is to be replaced by sisitre to tremble, sii^e 
to adorn; in other foreign words it is to be retained: Zone, Zenit, Zelot. 



COLLOQUIAL FOEMS. 



65. In colloquial language words of frequent occurrence and of no 
particular logical importance undergo some abbreviations and changes 
besides those already spoken of. Some of the most important of them 
may here be mentioned. 

at, to, before infinitives pronounced a. 

den is enclitically pronounced 'n: gi me'n for giv mig den give it me. 

det (which proclitically is pronounced de : de{t) store Ilus the big 
house) is enclitically pronounced '6 : si me' 6 for sig mig det tell it me. 

endnu yet, pron. inu. 

idet when, pron. ide* (see § 43). 

nej no, pron. use. 

og and, pron. a (thus taking the same form as the infinitive particle 
at, with which it is often confounded). 

ogsaa also, pron. o'sa. 

skal shall pron. sga. 

til to, pron. t-he. 

trediw 30, pron. treSva. 

ml will, pron. ve. 



DAiN'ISH ACCENT. 



66. The accent stress in Danish as a rule rests on the 
root-syllable, which in most cases is the first syllable. The 



22 da:n^ish sounds. 

accent stress is not in common writing indicated by any ortho- 
praphic sign. 

67. Some derivative suffixes take the accent: — ads, — inde, — i\ 
Ex.: Mora'dsTdOYdi^^, F^m'/zcZ^ lady friend, FcBrcZ^' value. 

68. Foreign words as a rule have the accent on the same syllable 
as in the language from which they have been adopted: Stude'nt, Kor- 
pora'l, Universite't, Fami'lie, Ame'rika. 

Note 1. In a few foreign words the accent is on another syllable 
than in the language from which they were taken; Ex.: Talle'rken dish 
plate, from Low G. Te'llerlcen; Bersoz'rk from O. N. he'rserkr; Yalky'rie 
from O. N. xa'lkyria. 

Note 2, In words ending in — or (adopted from the Latin) the ac- 
cent in plural moves according to the Latin rule: Profe'ssor, Professo'rer 
(but with the definite article Profe'ssoren the professor). 

69. Adjectives derived in — agtig and — liaftig (German 
endings) have the accent on the termination: iarna^gtig 
childish, dela^gtig partaking, mandha^ftig mannish; the same 
is also the case with most adjectives ending in — ish: parti^sh 
partial; poli^sk sly (but Icri'-gerish warlike). 

The ending — lig often has the power of moving the ac- 
cent towards the ending of the word: soedva'nUg customsiYj 
(bnt Sce'dvcme custom), eventy'rlig marvellous (but E'ventyr 
adventure). 

70. In compound words the first part as a rule takes 
the chief accent('), the first syllable of the second part 
a secondary accent ('); Ex. : Hu^slce'rer private tutor, 
Pr0'veaa^r trial year; Blo'msterpoHte flower pot. 

7 I . The chief accent is on the second part of compound 
words, a) in substantives; 1) in some Scandinavian local 
names: X0'5e7Jia't'?^ Copenhagen, Ko'rs&^r; 2) in some com- 
pounds, where the second part qualifies the first part: Aar- 
hu'ndrede century, Aartv^sinde millennium, AarW decen- 
nium (but Fe'/aaar lustrum); 3) in some titles: Borgme^'ster 



DANISH SOUNDS. 23 

burgomaster, Geiierallb^jtiiant lieutenant general; -4) in the 
words: nordo'-st northeast, nordve'st northwest etc., and in 
Shj (Br so' miner month of June, Pehermyhite peppermint, 
Skariity'de hemlock, Fastelahm shrovetide, ShjmrtoWsdag 
Maundy Thursday, Lang fre'' dag Good Friday; 5) in words, 
the second part of which is lille: BarnW-lJe little child, Mor- 
Ii'Ue dear mother; 6) in some words the first part of which is 
a verbal stem, the second an adverb: Paso'p (dog's name), 
FarveH farewell ; b) in adjectives : 

1) in some adjective derivatives in -ig or -lig: agtvce'-rdig 
estimable, tilh0'rlig proper, licevngje'rrig vindictive, /7'i?720'- 
dig frank, taalmo'dig patient (but lio'vmodig haughty), neder- 
drcB^gtig mean. But most compound adjectives formed in 
this manner have the accent on the first part of the composi- 
tion: ski'nlieUig hypocritical, ma';?/76',<?/rZ(^ manysided, ehisfor- 
mig uniform ; no strict rules can be given, because the lan- 
guage of different persons differs even in the same words, and 
sometimes similar words differ without any apparent reason 
(Ex.: Ico'rtvarig of short duration; but: langva'rig of long 
duration) and in some cases difference in accent serves to indi- 
cate difference of meaning; Ex.: enfo'-ldig simple minded, 
e'nfoldig yielding a return equal to the seed sown ; 2) in ad- 
jectives derived in -som and -bar: opfi'ndsom inventive, iid/Q^r- 
lar practicable; 3) in compound adjectives the first part of 
which is al: alvi'dende omniscient, aJmce'-gtig 2^.m.\g\\tY^ ale'ne 
alone; 4) in some other compound adjectives: h'GJveliaa'reii 
nobel, ]idjcB''del highly noble, libjstcB^ret highly honored, med- 
li'dende sympathetic, tVfre'ds satisfied; 

c) compound adverbs the first part of which is der or her 
and the second part a preposition, are accentuated on the first 
part, if they commence the sentence ; if not, they are accen- 
tuated according to the logical importance of the component 



24 DANISH SOUNDS. 

parts (see § 75) : de^ri har De Ret there you are right, lian 
gih derfra^ med tunqt Hjerte he left (literally: went thence) 
with a heavy heart; e'ngang once (but no more), enga^ng once 
upon a time; desvce'rve alass, desu^den besides (but de'-sfor- 
uden besides), desli'ge in the same manner, de^suagtet never 
the less, de^sangaaende thereabout; also adverbs compound 
with saa- and hiwr- change accent according to the logical 
importance of the component parts: saasna'rt (som) as soon as 
(but saa'snart so soon), s aa'm eg et so lauch^ saamo3'?id indeed^ 
saavi'dt as far as (but saa'ledes thus, saa^som because), livor- 
naaW when, TivorW'des how (but livo^rledes in what manner), 
hvorda^n how, livorveH albeit, hvorvi^dt whether. Compound 
adverbs consisting of a preposition with a following substan- 
tive or adjective used as substantive as a rule have the accent 
on the second part; Ex. : igrn're going on, afste'd off, overaHt 
everywhere, itii^ a sunder, efterJiaa^nden by and by, oversty'r 
to naught, (kofmiie) overe'ns (to come) to terms, foru'den 
outside of, foro'-ven above, forne^den below, Ulsa^mmen to- 
gether. (But o^verliaands^ o^vervoettes exceedingly, a'fsides 
apart, fo'rlods in advance). Furthermore may be noted: al- 
deHes wholly, fremde'les further, ^^r^^^^'Z-'^ especially, allere'de 
already, aUi'gevel though, maasJce'^ hanske^ perhaps, monstro'- 
I wonder. 

72. In words compound with the (originally German) 
prefixes ie-^ er-^ foT-^ ge- the accent as a rule is on the syllable 
following next to the prefix; Ex. : legri'he to understand, er- 
fa^re to lesLrn^Forsta'nd sense, Gelw'r (musical) ear. The origi- 
nally German prefix /or (Ger. ver) is to be distinguished from 
the originally Danish prefix of the same sound corresponding 
to English f o r e in such words as Fo'rmiddag forenoon, i^o'r- 
l0her forerunner. 

73. The Danish prefix ^-, Eng un-, takes the accent ey- 



DANISH SOUNDS. 25 

cept in adjectives derived (chiefly from verbs) with the termi- 
nations -ligj -elig^ -iar^ -som. U'ro disquiet, U'aar bad year, 
uska'delig harmless, uanseHig insignificant (but u^adelig not 
of nobility), tttvi'vlso7n indubitable. Note further the adjec- 
tives -z^i'/'^e^i^i^? ignorant, iimm'-lencle speechless, ue^nig of a 
different opinion, tthri'stelig un-Christian, the conjunction 
ua^gtet although, and the verbs uma^ge (or u^mage) and ulei'- 
lige to trouble. 

74:. The prefixes mis-, sam-, und-, 'can-, mder- as a rule have the 
accent; Ex.: Ili'sdceder evildoer, Sa' mo^rhejde co-operation, u'ndsige to 
defy, Va'n-art wickedness, VeUlerlag compensation, but adjectives de- 
rived in 'dig and -som takes the accent on the second part of the compo- 
sition: misWnksom suspicious (but Mi'stanlce suspicion), undgaa'elig 
avoidable, vedersty'ggeUg abominable; and so do the following words: 
Misu'ndelse envy, Undta'gelse exception, Undvi'gelse or U'ndmgelse es- 
cape, undta'gen except (but with inverted position of the words: e'n 
aleneu'ndtagen one only excepted), 'W7icZ?)Q?'r% dispensable, samdrm'gtig 
unanimous, vana'rtig wicked, vanku'ndig ignorant. 



SENTENCE ACCENT. 



75. Different from the syllabic accent is the sentence or 
rhetoric accent, whereby a different stress is given to the dif- 
ferent words of the sentence according to their logical impor- 
tance. 

Pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions and other particles as 
well as auxiliary verbs are as a rule unaccented. When a 
word is used in the sentence without stress it is subject to dif- 
ferent changes, such as abbreviation of long sounds, loss of 
glottal stop (see § 76) and even loss of a part of their sub- 
stance (see §§65 and 16). 



26 DAI^ISH SOUNDS. 

Sometimes the whole meaning of a sentence is changed by 
a change of accent: Min Yen gi'-k igen my friend left again, 
min Ven gih ige^n my friend reappeared (as a ghost, haunted 
the house). 



GLOTTAL STOP. 



76. The accent stress (including in some cases the so- ■ 
condary accent) takes in Danish in a gre.t many (originally) 
monosyllabic words the peculiar form of a glottal stop or 
catch (Sweet), by the Danish grammarians called St&dtone or 
Toneliold. This glottal stop is produced by a temporary clos- 
ure of the glottis and a corresponding interruption of the 
voice, the result being a sound very similar to the one produ- 
ced by cough or hiccough. Those Danish dialects, therefore, 
which are especially given to the use of the glottal stop are 
said to "hiccough the words forth". As the glottal stop con- 
sists in an interruption of the voice, it results that it can only 
occur in sounds that are produced or accompanied by an emis- 
sion of voice (vowels and voiced consonants). 

The accent stress of originally polysyllabic words is cha- 
racterized by the absence of the glottal stop. 

[The glottal stop is here indicated by (*).] 

77, The glottal stop chiefly occurs in the following cases 
(although there is some difference between the various dialects 
and also individually as to its use) : 

1) a great many monosyllables : Ma^nd man, Hu^s house, 
faa^ te^Y (always in monosyllables consisting of long vowel 
sound followed by consonant (excepting Fa'r^ Ifo'r^ Bro^r^ 
Pe^i% FovH which are originally dissyllabic) or short vowel 



DANISH SOUNDS. 27 

sound followed by two voiced consonants ; as a rule in those 
ending in a long vowel or diphthong ; those consisting of short 
vowels followed by h, m, n, ng with following voiceless con- 
sonant take the glottal stop in the dialect of Sealand, but not 
in that of Jutland, while r in this position is incompatible 
with glottal stop ; sometimes it occurs in words having a short 
vowel before one single voiced consonant). 

2) many dissyllables in -el, -en and -er; Ex.: ^^sel 
donkey, Vin^ter winter, A^se7i donkey. 

3) the radical syllable of many compound verbs, ad- 
jectives, adverbs and nouns derived from verbs, where the 
glottal stop is lacking in the non-compound words : Ex. : 
{h)je7ns0^ge to visit, Me'dskyPdig accomplice, A7ihla^ger 
accuser. 

4) in some foreign words: Kano^n^ Stude^nt^ Ame^riJca, 

78 . The glottal stop serves to distinguish pairs of words 
which otherwise would have the same sound: 

1) the definite form of monosyllables from that of dis- 
syllables ending in -e, the former with, the latter without 
glottal stop. 

with glottal stop without glottal stop 

Aan^den the spirit (Aand) Aand'en the breath {Amide) 
Sk&^det the lap {Sk^d) Sh&'det the deed (of convey- 

ance, Sk0de) 
Buii^den the bottom [Bund) Bondmen the peasant {Bonde) 

2) the plural form of monosyllables, ending in -er (with 
stop) and of dissyllables, ending in -r (without stop), 

with stop without stop 

Mn^der ducks {And) End'er ends {Ende) 

Stmn^ger sticks {Starig) Stceng^er hay-lofts {Stcenge) 



28 da:n"ish sounds. 

3) the definite form of monosyllabic substantives (with stop) 
and corresponding adjectives or participles (without stop). 

with stop ^ without stop 

Seplet the sail sejVet sailed 

Si&^vet the dust si&v'et dusty 

4) past participle plural of some weak verbs (with stop) 
and the corresponding imperfect tense (without stop) : Ex. : 

{de Neve) pi^nte they were tortured; (de) pi^nte they 
tortured ; 

5) some proper nouns (with stop) and corresponding ap- 
pellatives (without stop). 

with stop without stop 

En^gel Eng'el angel 

JcB^^jer Jm'-ger hunter 

KrKeY'ger Kri'ger warrior 

M0lHer M^lVer miller 

6) present tense of some verbs (with stop) and the corre- 
sponding nouns (without stop) : 

with stop without stop 

{han) maimer he paints MaVer painter 

'' lid^ier he runs L&b'er runner 

7) the definite form of some monosyllabic substantives 
(with stop) and verbal nouns ending in -en (without stop) ; 

Tviv'^len the doubt Tviv'len doubting 

Srae^den the smith Sme'-den forging. 



QUANTITY OF DANISH SOUNDS. 



79. Vowels and open consonants can be long or short; 
shut consonants (stops) are in the Danish language always short. 



DAKISH SOUNDS. 29 

Long sounds can only occur in accentuated syllables. A con- 
sonant written double between two vowels indicates that the 
preceding vowel is short, but final consonants are not written 
double to indicate shortness of preceding vowel except in a 
few cases where it may be done, when it is thought desirable 
to distinguish between two words that otherwise would look 
alike ; Ex. : Brud{d) rupture, Brud bride, Dug{g) dew. Dug 
table cloth. 

Note. In the following words consonants are written double after 
a long vowel to indicate the hard (non-spirantic) sound: Drcegge grapnels, 
d(Egge to coddle, Hceggen the bird cherry, Lceggen the calf, Lcpgget the 
fold, tuck, Plaggen the colt, Slcoegget the beard, F^^^^?^ the wall, ^ggeii 
the edge, Mgget the egg, iVb?5&£?^ the beak j5?'^(^fZ6 breadth, F'fZfZ^ width. 
The vowel is also long before double consonant in the following words: 
otte eight, sjette sixth, Sotten the sickness, jEtten the family, and in 
words derived by the termination -ms^ssig : forJioldsm^^ssig propor- 
tionate, etc. 

80. The quantity of consonants is not indicated in spell- 
ing. Long is the first of two soft consonants (Z, m, 7^, r, ^, g) 
in intermediate position between two vowels, the preceding 
vowel then being short, accentuated and pronounced without 
glottal stop: hamre to hammer, hornet horned, Almagt omni- 
potence, Steniord stone table. (But short consonant in ramse 
to say by rote, Slcjorte shirt, Hor'^net the horn). 



30 



NORWEGIAN SOUNDS. 

NORWEGIAN SOUNDS. 



8 ! . Table of the Norwegian Yowels classified according 
to their place of articulation. 



Back. 


Mixed 


FllONT. 




Not 
rouuded. 


Hounded . 


Not 
rounded. 


Rounded. 


Not 
rounded. 


Bounded. 


High, 


Narrow 









U 


i 


y 


Wide 














Low. Mid. 

i 


Narrow 




a- 






e 





Wide 




a 






a 





Narrov/ 










a3 


oe 


Wide 


a 











For the explanation of the technical terms: Back, Mixed, Front, 
High, Mid, Low, see § 10. 

Note, a is s, little advanced, but not so much so as in Danish. 
Vulgarly and dialectically the long a may be pronounced further back 
and with a slight rounding, approaching the English aw in law. 

o is midway between high and mid and a midway between 7md and 
low, but both are pronounced with the rounding corresponding to the 
higher stage. 



/ACOUSTIC VALUE OF THE NORWEGIAN YOWELS. 



82. a has the sound of English a in father, short or long. 
Ex. short: ffat hat, Mcm{d) man; long: Dag day, Sal hall. 



KORWEGIAK SOUNDS. 31 

83. (B has the sound of English a in care ; it occurs long 
or short before r\ Ex. long: hcere to bear, IcBve to teach, nmr 
near; short: Fmrd conduct, voyage, Smerte pain, Verh work. 

Note. The orthographic sign of this sound may be, as seen from 
the above examples, (b or e; the former is used when the same word in 
another form or another kindred word has a or aa where the word in 
question has se ; Ex. : FiJdrd derived from fare to travel, bddre to carry, 
impf. bar; fddrre fewer, comp. of faa; K^rring old (or married) woman 
derived from Kar{l) man. Where this rule does not apply, i. e. where 
there is no such a or aa to judge by, then the long a-sound as a rule is 
written oe, the short e. But there are some exceptions. Ex. long sound 
written e: der there, er is, Erende message, fprde fourth, her here, 
igjer{d)e (or igj^re) going on, Jem iron, Jertegn sign, miracle. Shoil 
sound written ce: ford^rm to spoil, forfddrde to frighten; sasrdeles espe- 
cially, vs^rd (colloquially pronounced vsB^^t) worth, vserre worse. 

Obs. Veir weather, pron. vser 

84. a long or short, like English e in "men"; Ex. short: 
ret right, slet even, bad, trwt tired; long: Gloede joy, Fcedre 
fathers, Stoeder cities. 

Orthographic signs of the sound a are (b and e; their use 
corresponds to the rule given in § 83 note. Exceptions: 
a) long a written e: Eventyr fairy tale, i\jeH to death, Kjede 
chain, vever agile; b) short a written ce: Drmg grapnel, Vmg 
wall, Grces grass, licesUg ugly, lemloeste to maim, Voeske 
satchel, Vce{d)she fluid, reed afraid, trcet tired, Kjceft (vulgar) 
mouth, Tceft scent, Kroeft cancer, Blmh ink, Icshhe to leak, 
Leek leak, Sprceh crack, sproehhe to crack, Feelle fellow, Troel 
thrall, Vrnld B^ving^ Veelde^oviev^ {n)veelv Ysmlt^ Fjeelke sled^ 
Fresnde relative, cense to mind, faafeengt useless, forfddngelig 
vain, H^vd prescriptive right. 

Note. In the dialect of Christiania and the southern part of Nor- 
way the long sound of a has been replaced by the long <?, and the short 
sound of a is only half wide. 



32 nsroRWEGiAJS" sounds. 

85. ^ like French ^ in ^'ete'^\ English « in "name" as 
usually pronounced in America, i. e. without the diphthongic 
element. Short e only occurs in words formed by inflection 
or derivation from words with long e; Ex. : lre{d)t neuter 
form of hre{d) broad, Bredde breadth, derived from the same 
word; Ex. long: Te tea, Ve{d) wood, hed (pron. het) hot. 

Orthographic sign of this sound is e. 

Note. In the dialect of Cliristiania and the southern part of Nor- 
way the long sound of e has been substituted for that of a, see § 84 note. 
On the other hand the short sound of e is in the speech of many, even 
educated, people in the course of being replaced by a half wide short a. 
As yet, however, the pronounciation of brM instead of hre{d)t may be 
considered as bordering on the vulgar. 

86. '^ short or long; it has the narrow sound of English ee 
in "see"; Ex. long: Vin wine, ti ten, i in; short: Vin{d) 
wind, li{d)t (neut.) little. Orthographic sign i, except in the 
word de (De) they, the, you. 

Note. For the pronunciation of mig, dig, sig see § 94. Before 
vowels i as a rule is pronounced so very short as to make it almost or 
wholly consonantic in character: Kastanie (pron. Kastar.je) chestnut, 
Familie (j) family, Kristiania (j, or as a very short i); as a short i also 
in Kariol carriole, Million; iredie the third is pronounced tredde or 
tredje. 

87. ^ has the sound of German unaccented e in " Gabe," 
approaching French e in "que"; but of ten its articulation is 
more advanced and then it sounds almost like a short e. This 
is especially often the case in unaccented prefixes. 9 only 
occurs in unaccented syllables ; orthographic sign e ; Ex. : 
Gave gift, v?Qre to be, iefale (o-a-9) to order. 

Note, the orthographic sign for 9 is i or e in tusin{d) or tu8en{d) 
thousand. 

88. a has a sound approaching English a in call (but it is 
pronounced with a somewhat higher articulation; raised low 



:n^orwegia]S' sounds. 33 

or lowered mid ; the rounding is the same as corresponds to 
the mid sound (o) in the European languages generally. 
It may be long or short, the short sound being somewhat 
wider than the long one. 

Note 1. Orthographic sign of the long sound is as a rule aa (a); 
Ex : Aal eel, graa grey, Yaar spring. 

Exceptions: before g and v the sound of a i^ usually written o: over 
over, doveii lazy, love to promise, Slcov forest, og and, Sprog language; 
but if g represents the sound of k (see § 122j, then the sound of a is 
written aa (a): Maage mew, pron. mkke (or mkge), laageik) fog, xaage{k) 
to wake, vaagen awake; also in Yaag (g) bay, Aag (g) yoke. Observe 
also Fble (a) colt, Jorsdag (a) Thursday, vov (a) o\xY,fore a prefix {fore- 
bygge to prevent, Foreyners foretop). 

KOTE 2. The orthographic sign of the short sound as a rule is o; 
Ex. : Lod half an ounze, liolde to hold, Konge king. Exceptions: aa is as 
a rule written before nd, representing the sound nn: Baan{d) ribbon, 
Haan{d) hand; in the words -4ac?5^^ carcass, /macf^^ gourmandize, and 
others; furthermore in forms or words derived from corresponding 
words with a long aa; Ex. : graat neut. of graa grey, haar{d)t neut. of 
haar{d) hard, etc. 

89. has no exact equivalent outside of the Scandinavian 
languages, although it comes very near to the sound of Eng- 
lish 00 in '^poor." Its place of articulation is midway between 
''high" and "mid," and the rounding corresponds to high (oo). 
It may be short or long. Orthographic sign for the long 
sound is o, for the short oor u\ Ex. long : {jeg) lo (I) laughed, 
Horn horn. Hoi multitude; Ex. short: Bonde peasant, op up 
(in Christiania pronounced ap), Bitk (o) he-goat, tung (o) 
heavy, u serves to represent this sound before ng^ nk and as 
a rule before m ending a syllable or followed by another con- 
sonant, /, h and gt. Furthermore in the following words : 
Kunst art, Spujis bung. Kul^ coal, is sometimes pronounced 
koL 

90- Also the Scandinavian u is a peculiar sound without 



34 KORWEGIAN SOUi^DS. 

any exact equivalent in English. It comes nearest to the 
English u in ''fnlP' or ''put." In pronouncing the Norwe- 
gian u the back of the tongue is raised towards the hard pal- 
ate and the point remains behind the lower incisors, while the 
lips are considerably protruding. Ex. long: Gud GoA^ Ur 
watch, liul (adj.) hollow, Brud bride; short: Brud breach, 
Gut boy, Hul hole (also pronounced Hoi), 

Note. For u being the orthographic sign of o see § 89. 

91. y has the tongue position of ^, the lip rounding of u. 
It sounds like German U, French uin "lune," only still 
thinner, nearer to i. It may be short or long. Phonetic 

sign y, Ex. long: By town, syv seven, yde yield; short: yppe to raise, 
yste to make cheese, hygge to build. 

Note. For y being sometimes pronounced as o see § 92 note. 

92. 0. 

is a rounded e and has a sound like French eu in "pen"; 
it only occurs long, but is never found before radical r ; Ex, : 
island, d0 die, (Hunden) gj0r (the dog) barks, o is a 
rounded oe and has a sound like French eit in "peuple," 
German o in "Gotter." It occurs both short and long, long 
only before radical r. In this latter position, however, the 
dialect of Christiania has a still lower (more open) sound oe. 
Ex. o: sb{d)t ^WQQt (neut.), grd7i greened orce: Bom or Bodrn 
children, gjor or gjcer does, hbrlig or hcerlig audible. 

Note. The orthographic sign of all three sounds, 0, o and oe is in 
print as a rule 0, in writing o. 

In a few words the sign y represents the sound of o : syt- 
ten (o) 17, sytti (o) "^O^fyrti (o, oe) 40. Also in some other 
words y may be pronounced as o : Lyhhe luck, StylcTce piece, 
Brysthr^^^i^fiytteio move. But the pronunciation as y is 
regularly heard among educated people. 



KORWEGIAN SOUKDS. 35 

NORWEGIAN DIPHTHONGS. 



93- The diphthongic sounds occurring in the Norwegian 
language are: a^, mi^ oi^ bi^ ceu, ai has a sound like English 
i in "mile." Ex.: Hai shark, Kai qwdij^ vaie wave, float. 
In the word Mai May, a as a rule is pronounced long. 

94. ^^' has the orthographic sign ei^ which sign always 
represents the sound here indicated (not as in Danish: ai); 
Ex. : lei tedious, disagreeable ; Vei road. 

In some words eg, ek, ig serve as signs for this diphthongic sound: 
yg I (pron. ](bi), mig me, dig you, sig himself etc. (pron. mod etc.). seks- 
ten 16 (pron. soeisten). 

egl, egnsive in the greater part of Norway pronounced ceil, Q3in; but 
in the northern part egn is pronounced engn; Ex.: JVegl {mi) nail, legl 
{mi) tile, Regn {pein or engn) rain. In mathematics distinction is made 
between Kegle cone and Kile wedge, lat. cuneus. But in everyday 
speech both words are pronounced alike; slaa leaner (i. e Kegler) play 
at ninepins, slaa ind en Jcjile (i. e. Is^ile) drive in a wedge. 

95. oi only occurs in some foreign words; it has the same sound as 
English oy in "boy," but has a tendency to become assimilated with oi: 
JioUoi halloo, Konwi convoy. 

96- III oi the first element of the diphthong is the wide 5, 
the second a wide y ; Ex. : Ao^' high, Toi cloih.^ f'dite to gad. 
og in Logn lie, Dogn day and night, as a rule represents the 
same sound, but in the northern part of the country those 
words are pronounced Ibngn^ dbngn, Nogel key is by some 
people pronounced 7^0 i'eZ, commonly nbhkel. 

The word Bygd country township is sometimes pronounced 
Ibid^ but usually as it is spelt. The former pronunciation is 
still considered somewhat vulgar, although Ibsen uses it in 
''Brand" in the following rhyme : 

lusenfidgte mig a f By g den (oi), 
ikke e?^ oandt op til Hoiden. 



36 KOKWEGIAN sou:n'ds. 

The sound of H is in some foreign words represented by 
qvl: Farmaceut (pron. soii) pharmacist, Lieutenant (pron. 
and now regularly spelt Ibitnant)^ neutral {pi) neuter, Eugen 
(pron. disjen). 

97. (BU has a sound that comes very near the Cockney 
pronunciation of o?^ in "house." Orthographical sign au. 
Ex. : taus silent, August , Taug rope. 

This diphthong is written eu in Europa. (But in Greek names 
Zeus etc. eti is pronounced ev). 



NORWEGIAN COIN SONANTS. 



98- P as in English; Ex. : Pave pope, Penge money, Pil 
arrow, op up. 

Note 1. Vulgar is a tendency to pronounce p before t as/; Ex.: 
kajtein for Kaptein Captain, skoft for skapt (written skaU) shaped. 

Note 2. The sound of p is written t in the following cases: 

1) after short vowel before, mostly inflective, t and s\ skaht (p) 
shaped, raabt (pron. ropt) called, l\.rehs (2?) crawfish, Skibshund (p) ship's 
dog, Labskaus {p) lobcscouse: Lcebe lip is often pronounced Irsppe, with 
short vowel. 

2) after a long vowel when p either ends a word or is followed 
by 9 (see § 6 in fine); Ex. : Gab (p) yawn, gabe (pd) to yawn, 
Skrah (p) trash, skrahe (p) to scrape, Skab (p) wardrobe. 
Tab {p) loss, tabe (p) to lose, Kaabe (p) cloak, taabelig (b or 
p) foolish, krybe (p) to creep. Among the younger generation of 
authors it is getting always more common to spell these words in ac 
cordance with the Norwegian pronunciation. It is only in a small part 
of the coast districts in the southernmost part of Norway that b in these 
words is pronounced as written, similarly to the pronunciation in Danish 
(see § 4). 



nokavegia:^" sounds. 



37 



99. b sounds like Eiaglisli b; this sound occurs in the be- 
ginning, middle (chiefly in foreign words) and end of words; 
Ex. : By town, BJy lead, Hyiel garret, Lab (pr. labb) paw. 

Note. Sometimes h interchanges with p after a long vowel (see § 98 
Note 2), b being reserved for a more elevated style or a figurative mean- 
ing; Ex.: 

p. b. 

Dacib, b, baptism; Joliannes den 
Dober John the Baptist. 

figuratively: en gribende Scene an 
impressive scene. 

raabe in some sentences figura- 
tively: hans Forbrydehe raaber 
om Iloivn his crime cries for 
vengeance. 

Baab, b: Raabet yaa Reformer i\\e 
clamor for reforms. Raaber a 
speaking trumpet. 

figuratively: Kjodet er shrobeligt, 
b, the flesh is weak. 

fortabes, b (tlieol.) to be damned; 
et Fortahelsens Barn a child of 
perdition. 

et slebent, h, Vo^sen a polished 
address. 

skabe, 5, to create; Skabelse crea- 
tion. 

Svbbe, 55, scourge. 

— skab, b, in Kundskah (also _p) 

knowledge, Yidenskah, h, sci 

ence. 



dbbe, p, to baptize. 

gribe, p, to catch. 

raabe (pr. rope) to call aloud, cry. 

Raab (raap, rop) cry, call. 

skrobelig, p, fragile, frail. 
tabe, p, to lose. 



slehen, p, ground, cut {slepet Glas, 
cut glass). 

skabe, p, sig to act in an affected 
manner. 

Svbhe (pr. Svepe) driving whip. 

— skab, p, in Ondskah, p, evilness, 

Troldskab, p, witchcraft; ^gte- 

skab, p, marriage. 

100. '^n bilabial nasal, like the English m; Ex. : maa must, 
0711 about, komme to come. Before/ m assumes a labiodental 
character, more rarely before v ; Ex. : Jomfru young woman, 
stewardess. 



38 NOEWEGIAK SOUi^DS. 

101. /is a labiodental open sound like English f; Ex.: 
faa get, yiiffe to push. 

Note 1. In the word «/of /is a sign for the sound of v, see § 102, 
Note 1. 

Note 2. In inflective forms of words, the stems of which end in 
"v" the sound of / is sometimes written "v": ImTit (partcp.) pron. liaft 
had (colloquially pron. hat); see § 102 Note 2. 

102. V is a labiodental open voiced sound, not quite so 
sharply articulated as English v. Occurs both in the begin- 
ning, middle and at the end of words ; Ex. : vi we, love to 
promise, Slcov forest. 

Note 1. In the word af of this sound has the orthographic sign/. 

Note 2. v is the orthographic sign of the sound/ 1) before « and t 
in inflective forms of words, the stems of w^hich end in -y, when the 
vow^el preceding ^ is short; if the preceding vowel is long, then v retains 
its sound; in some words both pronunciations (long vowel & 'd and short 
vowel &/) are admissible; Ex. : soitte tillivs (/) to dispatch (food); Limens 
(/) of life, grovt (v or/) rough (neuter form) , paaskncvs (v or f) astride, 
tiUiavs (v or /) at sea. Also revse (/) to castigate. Colloquially the 
imperfect lovede promised is pronounced lofte. 2) In the words: Viol 
(flower) Yiolet, Violin, Violoncel. 

Note 3. v is written but not pronounced after I in hal{Y) half, 
sel{Y) self, So^(v) silver, tol{Y) twelve, tol{\)te twelfth, Tyl{v)t dozen; 
furthermore in P/'6>(v)6-^ dean, Tv^*(v)Moubt (now regularly written Tvil), 
Jia{'v)t had, bra{t)) or hrav, plural pronounced brave or bra. 

For Ui(ve)r gi{ve)r see § 140 c. 

103. ^ is a voiceless dental stop, slightly aspirated, espe- 
cially in the beginning of words, but much less so than in Dan- 
ish. The aspiration is omitted after 5, t in this position thus 
representing a sound between t and d\ Ex. : Tal number, Hat 
hat, Potet potato, stor big. 

th does not represent any other sound than t', it is used in some 
words of Greek origin and as a rule in the conjunction ihi for, to distin- 
guish it from the numeral ti ten, both w^ords being pronounced alike. 
Sometimes also in lliing Session of court. Storthing name of Norwegian 



NORWEGIAN^ SOUNDS. 39 

parliament, to distinguish these words from Ting thing; furthermore in 
Throndhjem, IJiorsdag Thursday; but these words are now generally 
spelt without h. 

Note 1. t is written but not pronounced 1) in de{t) that, the (pron. 
art.) and in the enclitic definite article neuter; Ex.: Huse{t) the house. 
In elevated speech, however, the t in this latter case usually retains its 
sound. 

2) in the words Gjes{t)giver country innkeeper, V(£r(t)shus inn. 

3) in the infinitive particle at to, colloquially pronounced a, thus 
distinguished from the conjunction at that, pronounced as written. In 
stead of Disputats disputation, Notits notice, etc., it is now the rule to 
write Disputas, Notis, etc. 

Note 2. For tj in some words representing the sound of ^j see 
§ 119 Note. 

104. The sound of t is represented by the sign cl in many 
words finally and before d after a long vowel ; Ex. : bl0d (t) 
soft, iide {t) to bite, Baad (t) boat, Jcaad (/) jolly, vaad (t) 
wet, Flaade {t) raft, Maade {t) manner, (but Saate hay-cock 
also spelt with ^, because it is a distinctly Norwegian word), 
Fad (t) dish, flad {t) flat, Gade {t) street, lad (t) lazy, Mad (t) 
food, fed (t) fat, GJed {t) goat, lied (t) hot, hede (t) to be called, 
lede (t) to search, Hvede {t) wheat, Smde (t) seat (but gjcete to 
guard (grazing animals) spelt with t cfr. Saate) ^ did (t) 
thither, Ifvid (t) white, hid {t) hither, lidcn (t) little, Fod (t) 
foot, mod (t) against. Bod (t) amende. Hod (t) root, rode (t) 
to rummage, Sod (t) soot, Grud {t) grounds, lade (t) to stoop, 
Knude {t) knot, Lud (t) lye, Pude (/) pillow, Stud (t) oxc, 
tude (t) to toot, Tud {t) spout, ud (t) cut, ude (t) out, bryde 
(t) break, Gryde (t) pot, Lyde (t) blei^ish, sJcryde (t) to boast, 
skyde (t) to shoot, snyde (t) to blow / the nose), l)0de (t) to pay 
a fine, B^der (t) fines, Fl0de (t) cream, Gr0d (t) porridge, 
m0de (t) meeting, St0d (t) push, stode {t) to push, Skj0de (t) 
deed of conveyance. 



40 



NOKWEGIAi^ SOUNDS. 



Double consouant after short vowel : Nod pron. Nott nut. 
Fodder feet, pron. Fotter^ sidde to sit, pron. sitte. 

Note. For some of these words in specific meanings being 
pronounced with d, see § 106. 

105- rf like English d; Ex. : da then, Uodi{g) bloody, reed 
(dd) afraid. 

Note. Where the Danish and the common Norwegian orthography 
have d in the end or middle of words after a long vowel, the common 
Norwegian pronunciation as a rule either has t or drops the d. Id the 
former case d corresponds to ON. t (see §§ 4 & 6), in the latter to ON. 6. 

106- Some words written with d are pronounced with d 
or t according to the meaning. The voiced explosive as a rule 
occurs in learned words and those chiefly occurring in higher 
style. 



t. 

fiyde, t, to float, to flow. 
groede, t {grkte) to cry, to weep. 
Kjod, tt, meat. 
lidCy t, to trust. 



Maade, t, manner. 

nyde, ty to take (food), nyde, t, godt 
af noget to draw profit of some- 
thing. 

raadden, tt, rotten, putrid. 

Mod, t, courage. 

Flade, d or t, plane. 

Skjbd, t, lap {Frakkesjod coatlap), 
SkjodsMnd (shoemaker's) apron. 

vide, t, to know. 



d. 

fiydende d, liquid. 
beg r aide, d, to cry over, 
/i^od, 0d, flesh. 

lillid, d, trust, paalidelig, d, trust- 
worthy. 

Note. Always lide, d, to suffer. 

Maade, d, mode (gram.); 2 ok % lige 
Maade thanks, the same to you. 

nyde, d, to enjoy, nydelig enjoy- 
able, pretty. 

raadden (morally) foul. 

modiy, courageous. 

always owrfladish superficial. 

i Familiens Skjbd in the bossom of 

the family. 
YidensTcab science, Viden know- 
ledge. 



NORWEGIAN" SOUKDS. 



41 



t. 

ydre, tt, outer; Yderfrak, tt, oyqt- 

coat ; yderst, tt, outermost. 
bide t, to bite. 
hlod, t, soft. 
Flaade t, raft. 
forhryde, t, sig to offend, trespass. 

lade, t, let; ladesomom to make it 
appear that. (See also § 140). 

overlade, t, to leave; tillade, t, to 
allow. 



d. 

yderst utmost, den yderste Dag the 

day of judgment. 
hidende pungent (answer, speech). 
blbdagtig effeminate. 
Flaade fleet. 
Forbryder criminal, Forbrydelse 

crime. 
lade:" det maa man lade ham, it 

must be admitted that he. 
tilsyneladende apparently, lilla- 

delse permission. 



107. ^ IS often written at the end or in the middle of 
words after a long vowel without being pronounced (see § 105 
Note). In rhetoric language the d may be retained in pro- 
nunciation, and in some words there are duplicate forms with 
or without d according to the meaning. 



Without d. 

Bla{d) leaf, sheet, newspaper 



bli{d) gentle, bland. 
Blo{d) blood, at spytte Blo{d) to spit 
blood, blo{d)Tod) red as blood. 



b7'e{d) broad: der skal en bre{d) Byg 
til at bcBre gode Dage it takes a 
broad back to carry god for- 
tune. 

Bro((i) bread. 



With d. 

Nordiike Blade (name of news- 
paper), ta{ge) Bladetfm Munden 
to speak one's mind. 

dit blide Aasyn your sweet face. 

Kjbd og Blod flesh and blood, Blo- 
detsBaandthe ties of blood; in 
many compounds: Blodhad car- 
nage, Blodhevn revenge for mur- 
der, Blodskam incest. 

de brede Byg der the broad parishes. 



wrt daglige Broc? our daily bread; 
den enes JDod, den andens ^rbd 
one man's death, the other man's 
breath (literally: bread). 



42 



:n'Oewegian sounds. 



Without d. 

d6{d) dead ; 

(colloquially may be used the 
genuine Norwegian form daa 
in the meaning of sluggish). 



Flo(d) high tide. 
gla{d) joyous. 

f/o{d) good. 

Raa{d) means, expedient: der er 
ingen Raa[d) med ham there is 
no outcome with him, det er ikke 
Raa{d) it is not possible, jeg liar 
ikke Baa{d) I cannot afford, 
o-aa djlos iv\{\iou.t an expedient. 

rb{d) red, en r'6{d) iV(5BS€ ared nose. 



stri{d), adj. headstrong. 

li{d) time, mgo{d) li^d) plenty of 

time, alti{d) always. 
m{d) wide, en vi(d) Frakke a wide 

coat. 



With d. 

Dod death; 

dbd og magteslbs null and void; d 
is always pronounced when the 
adjective is used as a noun: en 
dbd a dead man, staa op fra de 
dbde to rise from the dead . 

Flod river. 

et glad Budskah glad tidings, en 
glad Aften a merry night. 

den gode the good man, et Gode a 
blessing. 

Raad advice, en Statsraad (king's) 
minister, Kongens Raad the 
king's council, i^aadfbre sig med 
en to seek somebody's advice. 



han er rbd he is red (i. e. radical 
in politics), de rode Hunde the 
red dogs (i. e. roseola). 

Sir id, subst. strife. 

lid time, usual form. 

en vid Horisont a wide horizon 
(i. e. scope of ideas), uden mdere 
without further ado. 



109- d is always pronounced in Bad bath, Bod booth, 
Bryderi trouble, Daad deed, Ed oath, Fraade foam, Fred 
peace, Grode crop, Gud God, Had hate, Hceder honor' led 
loathsome, Lydi sound, Naade grace, Odel allodial ownership; 
as a rule in Bud message, always when this word indicates 
messenger, 

d also as a rule is pronounced in derivatives; '^il.\ fredelig peaceful, 
Qloede joy, raadelig advisable. 



NORWEGIAiq^ SOUNDS. 43 

109. nd and Id are as a rule pronounced nn and II: Mand 
(nn) man, Mund {nii) mouth, Icold {II) cold, Kulde {lie) 
subst. cold, liolde {lie) to hold, volde {lie) to cause. 

d is pronounced as d after I before r: Alder age, Bui- 
der noice, Hulder wood nymph, Skulder shoulder; and in 
the following words : Glide company, liilde to snare, Kilde 
fountain, Olding old man, ^Ide Sige^ Vcelde power; further- 
more in derivative words when the ending commences in a 
vowel: gylden golden, heldig fortunate (but Hel{d) fortune). 

d is pronounced after n before r and I: andre others, 
handle to deal, Handel (pr. handl) a deal; d is also pro- 
nounced in derivatives : sandelig verily, sandig sandy ; also as 
a rule in Kvinde woman, Minde reminiscence ; jeg liar isSinde 
I have in mind (but jeg gjorde det i Sinne I did it in anger), 
Kunde customer. 

110. a is mute 1) before s a) after a short vowel, in which 
case ds is pronounced ss : he{d)st best, Bi{d)sel bridle, l)i{d)sk 
snappish, Pla{d)s place, I{ry{d)s cross, hind q\xdiYieY^pu{d)sig 
funny, and many others ; b) in some words after a long vowel : 
Lo{d)s pilot, lo{d)se to pilot, Seila{d)s sailing, Straha{d)s 
(or ts) exertion; c) between n and s : £rcen{d)sel fuel, 
7nin{d)sJce to decrease (the orthographic rule is to write d be- 
tween n and s in the words derived from primitives with d : 
Ex.: Han{d)sTce glove, from Ilaand hand; but danse to 
dance, Gr cense \v[m\,^ etc.); 2) before t when a d belonging 
to the stem comes before an inflective t\ Ex.: god — <jO{d)t 
good^ Mod — Mb{d)t soft lide — li{d)t (part.) suffer; [before z^ 
of a derivative ending d is retained in writing when the end- 
ing consists of t alone; Ex. : et Skri{d)t a step, et Ri{d)t a 
ride ; but changed into t when the ending consists of t with a 
following vowel: god — gotte sig to regal one's self.] 

111. d is mute in some words after r ; the preceding 



44 I^OEWEGIAlsr S0U2q"DS. 

vowel is usually long; Ex.: Jor{d) earth, Fjor{d) fjord, 
Gj(Br{d)eteJiGe^ Or{d) word, ]V^or{d)mand (short o) Norwegian. 

lu the following words d is pronounced after r (the preceding vowel 

in that case is short): Boi^d border, Byrd birth, Fo^rd voyage (but paa- 

fce7'{d)e astir) , Ejord herd, ha^i^de to hardeii, ^<^5r(^ learned, i1[f6>r(^ murder: 

Verden the world, prde to inter, Norden the North, (but nor{d)enfra from 

the North, nor{d)enfjelds north of the mountains). 

112. 5 is a voiceless open blade sound; the voiced (soft) 
s {z) of English and other languages does not exist . in Nor- 
wegian ; Ex. : se to see, loese to read, Hus house. 

I I 3- ^j ^i* ^^j have about the same sound as English s4; 
Ex. : 8j'6 sea, sjelden seldom, Skjorte shirt, Skjort skirt. Be 
fore i and y this sound is written sk. Ex. : Ski Norwegian 
snowshoe. Sky cloud ; also before e in the following words : 
Ske spoon, (at) ske to happen, maaske^ kanske (also pro- 
nounced k) perhaps, Besked information, ieskeden modest, 
skele to squint, SkelU skeleton, (at) skeie (ud) to lead a dis- 
solute life; before oi in: Skbite smack, Skbiter skates (but 
Skbi fun, /S^^oier mischief maker, with k). 

The same sound may in foreign words be rendered by sch, sh, g, ch, 
;, s, according tho the spelling of the language from which the word is 
borrowed: Glief^ Geiii, Bagage.jaloux, Journal, KalescJie. BroscJie hvooth, 
Punch, ScJiah chess, March, Revision, Mission, Addition, Direktion, (but 
Kmtient pr. kwtsient in 3 syllables and Konsortium partnership, pr^ 
konsortsium in 4 syllables). 

I I 4. Z has about the same sound as in English; Ex. : lide 
to suffer, ia^r thigh, P^7 arrow, spille to play; for II is in 
some words written Id (see § 109). 

I is written but not pronounced before y in the words Lja 
or Ljaa scythe, Ljore opening in the roof for the smoke to 
pass out, Ljom echo, Ljan place near Christiania; further- 
more in : Karl man, and its compounds (pronounced and 
often written Kar\ Stakkar a wretch, Dan. Stakkel\ but in 



NOEWEGIAK SOUKDS. 45 

Husharlene the housecarles pr. I) ; and in skal shall, often 
pron. ska'^ and til to often pron. te. 

Note. After point r, I in the eastern part of Norway assumes a 
supr^idental character, being formed against the gums, and ris reduced 
to a gliding sound; Ex : Karl (nsune) , farlig dangerous, Ferle pearl. 

115. In eastern Norway the Old Norse combination r3 has devel- 
oped into a peculiar sound of inverted r or I, being pronounced by in- 
verting the tongue and raising the point up towards the hard palate and 
then bringing it forward with a smack. The inverted or ''cacuminal" 
sound produced in this manner makes upon the foreigner the impression 
of being an r, while to the Norwegians it appears to be an I; it is called 
the thick 1; Ex.: Smlvik (O. N. Sverbmk), name of a place. This sound 
is considered vulgar, but it is often used colloquially in Eastern Nor- 
way, even instead of common I; Ex.: Rlasse class, Aal eel, Ola 
(name). 

116. n like English 7i: nu now, Bdii prayer, vcBn?ie to 
accustom. 

The sound of nn is written nd in a great many words (see 
§ 109). Of words spelt with nn or n (if final) may be noted: 
Bonne bean, Bon prayer (plur. of both : Bonner^ but Bonder 
peasants, with the same ^- sound) ; en Finne a pimple, but at 
finde to find, at hunne to be able \hvX jeg hnnde (nn) I could], 
Skin light, appearance (at sMnne to shine), but Skind {nn) 
skin, Skinne rail, Vantro disbelief (but Vandfarve water 
color). 

Note. "When n is preceded by an r, then i-t i-n the eastern part of 
Norway assumes a supradental character, the r being reduced to a mere 
gliding sound. Other dental sounds are affected in the same way by a 
preceding r, and these combined sounds of r & following dental repre- 
sent the same sounds that in the Sanskrit Grammar are called cerebral 
(murdhanja). 

117. ng represent a single sound, the guttural nasal con- 
sonant, like English ng m singer; Ex. : synge to sing, tung 
heavy. 



46 KORWEGIAK SOUKDS. 

Before k the same sound is represented by n alone; Ex.: lanJce (ngk) 
thought, Boenk bench. 

The same is also sometimes the case before g in foreign words, ng 
thus representing the sound of ngg\ Kongo, JJngarn Hungary; and in 
words of French origin also in other cases; Ex.: balancere (ngs) to 
balance. Sometimes also in compound words a ^ or ^ may affect a pre 
ceding dental n so as to make it guttural: Haan{d)kloe{d^e {ngk) towel; 
but as a rule both sounds remain the same as in the separate words; 
Angiver (n-j) informer, angaa (n-g) to concern. In some words of French 
origin ng is pronounced ngsj (sj representiDg the sound of Engl, sh, see 
§ 113); Ex. : rangere pron. rangsjere, to rank, but tangere {ngg) to touch. 

118- ^ i^ Norway as a rule is a trilled point consonant. 
Before a voice consonant or vowel it is voiced, before a voiceless 
consonant it is generally voiceless. It is formed by allowing 
the point of the tongue to vibrate against the gums while the 
breath of air passes trough. It is always distinctly pro- 
nounced, never modified like final r in English ; Ex. : Ry fame, 
Ror rudder, hbre to hear. 

Note 1. In the south-western part of Norway is used an uvular r. 

Note 2. The alveolar r exerts a peculiar influence on a following 
dental sound t, d, Z, n, s(see§§ 114 note, 116 note). In polished language 
these supradental varieties of the front sounds as a rule are avoided 
after a short vowel as vulgar, except rs', Ex. : Vers verse (pron. almost 
versh). Person (pron. almost pershon). 

119- ^7 is a medio-palatal fricative sound corresponding 
to German ch in i c h. The English language has no corre- 
sponding sound although the middle sound produced in Eng- 
lish between t and y in such combinations as not yet^ donH 
you has a certain resemblance to it. The sound is produced 
by raising the middle of the tongue towards the palate with- 
out touching it, while at the same time the point of the 
tongue is lowered behind the lower teeth and the side edges 
of the tongue touch the second molars. The orthographic 
sign is kj except before i and y when it is ^; Ex. : kjore to 



KORWEGIAK SOUNDS. 47 

drive, Icjo^r dear, Kirhe church, Kys kiss. The sign of k repre- 
sents this sound also before e in the words Kegle cone, Kemi chemistry, 
Keruh. (But Reiser emperor with k), 

KoTE. The sound of kj is written tj in I'jeld oyster catcher (a bird), 
and Ijerii a small lake, 2jor tether, Ijoere tar. 

120. y is the voiced sound corresponding to the voiceless 
Jcj^ pronounced like English y in yawn. 

This sound is represented 1) by/, usually; Ex. : ja yes, jeg 
(jei) I, Jul Christmas, Mjd{d) mead, Li7ije line, tredje (also 
pron. tredde) third, Jbde jew. 2) by g before i (except Jih 
jib, jiile gybe) and sometimes before y ; Ex. : gift married, 
gih went, gylden golden. (But Jyde Jutlander, Jyllayid Jut- 
land. And in foreign words g may retain its proper sound 
before these vowels : Gigant^ JEgypten^ Religion ; so also in 
Gyda woman's name) and sometimes in give (see § 140 c). 3) 
by gj sometimes before other vowels than the two above men- 
tioned: gjalde to resound, Gjed (pron. je't) goat, /e^ gjor{d)e 
I did, Gjceld debt. 4) by hj in a few words ; Hjalte hilt, iJijel 
to death, Hjelm helmet, Hjem Home, ffjemmelwsLYrajit^ Hjeriie 
brain, Hjalmar^ Hjerte heart, Hjord herd, Hjort hart, IIjul 
wheel, Hjcelp help, Hjbrne corner. 5) by Ij in Ljaa^ Ljore^ 
Ljan (see § 114). 

(For shj^ sj and kj see §§ 113 & 119). 

121. ^ bas the sound of English ^ but more aspirated ; 
not so much so, however, as in Danish. The letter h represents 
this sound before consonants (except/, see§ 119), back vowels 
(«, 0, n) and unstressed front and mid vowels (9, i) and at 
the end of words ; Ex. : haste to throw, Klo claw, K71CB knee 
(take care not to make the ^ mute as in English!), Laks 
salmon, like to like, Viking^ Raak lane of water (cut in the 
ice), Tak {kk) thanks. 

Note. When a word is spelt with k after a long vowel it is a sign 



48 IsTORWEGIA]^ SOUi^DS. 

that the word is originally Norwegian and does not occur in the Danish 
language. (See § 122). 

122- '-fhe sound of h is in many words represented in 
writing by the letter (/; 1) after a short vowel before 5 or ^; 2) 
after a long vowel at the end of words or before d\ Ex.: 1) 
Slags (aks) kind (but Slags of a battle), Krigsflaade (ks) 
navy, Rigs{k^)-advokat attorney general, iugsere (ks) to tow, 
Jagt (kt) chase, lagt (kt) laid, Digt (kt) poem, sligt (kt) 
(neut.) such, stygt (kt) ugly, stegt (kt) ptc. fried, VcBgt (kt) 
weight; 2) Ager (k) field, iag (k) behind. Eager (k) baker, 
iruge (k) to use, B0g (k) beech, i)?^^ (k) table cloth, Hage (k) 
chin, H0g (k) hawk, Lage (k) brine, Lagen (k) (bed)-sheet 
(but Lager (g) stock in store). Leg (k) play, lege (k) to play, 
myg (k) pliable [but Myg (gg) mosquito], syg (k) sick, r?/^^ 
(k) to smoke (intr.), roge (k) to smoke (trans.), Spiger (k) 
nail. Tag (k) roof, grasp, rig (k) rich, % (k) adj. like, Forlig 
(k or g) agreement, /orZ/^e (k or g) to reconcile \h\x.i Forlig el- 
seslcommission (g) commissioners of arbitration] , Taage (k) fog. 

KoTE. Often in these words the pronunciations as g and Ic inter- 
change with each other, the former being considered more polite and 
appropriate for elevated style . 

In the following words there are double forms (with k and g) partly 
with a different meaning. 

with h with g. 

Bog book pr. bo'k. Bog pr. Bag more polite. 

Flag sometimes pron. flak in Flag (a*g or agg) national en- 

Isflag flake of Ice, Skjorte- sign. 

flag (k or g) shirtlap. 

Mog (pr. klo'k) sagacious ; en Jclog (ag) Kone a wise woman 

han er ikke rigtig klog (i.e.on supernatural things); 

(k) he is not quite in his det er vieget klogt gjort that 

right senses, jeg er lige (k) is a very clever move, af Ska- 

klog (k) I am just as wise de iliver man klog damage 

as I used to be. makes wise. 



NORWEGIAN SOUKDS, 



49 



Rige (k) empire, et stort 
Rige (k) a great empire. 



Sag (k) matter, en farli{g) 
/S^^ry(k)a dangerous thing, 
del er ingen Sag (k) it is 
a very easy matter, sag- 
soge (k, k) to sue. 

Smag (k) taste, en ubeliage- 
li{g) Smag (k) i Munden 
(nn) a disagreeable taste 
in the mouth; det har 
Mersmag (k) it has a 
morish taste. 

vaage (k) to watch ; vaage 
(k) o^'er en syg to watch 
a sick person; Vaage{ky 
hone a sick-nnrse. 



NaturrigGriie (g) the kingdoms 
of nature, Gtids Rige (g) the 
kingdom of God, det tyske 
Rige the German empire, 
Franhrige (g) France (but 
Sverige^Ton. Sverieov Sverje^ 
Sweden). 

Sag en the matter, saglig perti- 
nent (strictly to the point), 
Sagfbrer lawyer. 

Note: always Sag (g) saw. 

Smag (g) taste, god Smag good 

taste, 
smagfuld{gy ll)tasteful, elegant, 
Smag en er forshjelUg taste dif- 
fers. 



vaager (g) og ieder watch and 
pray. 



Aag (sometimes pron. 
yoke, oxbow. 



ak) gaa under Aaqet (g) to walk 
under the yoke ; 7nit Aag (g) 
er gavnli{gt)^ my yoke is use- 
ful. 

123- ^ is written but not pronounced in the words: 
Au{k)tion^ Mul{k)t fine, mnl{k)tere to fine, Engels{k)mand 
Englishman; sometimes k is also dropped in pronouncing 
Frans{k)mand Frenchman, and always in Frans{k)ird{d) 
French rolls. 

KoTE 1. For Ic being the orthographic sign of Aj see § 119. 

Note 2 There are still many people who instead of ks write (e\ 
Ex. : sexten or seksten pron. seisten see § 94. 

Note 3. The sound of Ic is still sometimes written q before u, 
pron. kv: Quadrat square, as a rule now written Kvadrat, Aquavit 
(pron. akkevit) Norwegian gin, now as a rule written Akevit, 



50 KOKWEGIAK S0U:N^DS. 

124- 9 has the sound of English g in ''give", '^go"; Ex. : 
gaa to go, gli{de) to slide, Gnier miser, grave to dig, jage to 
hunt, Norge Norway, Dag day, Sprog (ag) language, Tog (ag) 
train, Svmlg gullet, Sorg grief, Helg holidays, Elg elk, Talg 
tallow. 

Note 1. In some of these words, after ^ and r, ^ is sometimes pro- 
nounced as 7, but this pronunciation is considered vulgar. 

Note 2. For g as the sign of k see § 122 note; for the pronunciation 
varying between g and k see § 122 note; for g and gj being signs of j 
see § 120, 2 and 3; gid would, o that, gide to prevail upon one's self to, 
are pronounced with g before i. 

For g representing i as second part of diphthongs see §§ 94 and 96. 
For g representing the sound of sj in foreign words see § 113. 

Note 8. g sometimes before n represents the sound of ng\ Agn 
pron. angn, bait, Magnus pron. Mangnus or Magnus, Vogn pron. 
vongn. So also in the western and northern part of Norway in Egn, 
Logn etc. (see § 94 and 96). 

125. 9 is written but not pronounced: 

1) in adjectives and adverbs ending in — ig (lig) : storag- 
ti{g) haughty, /(Q5r<i/(^) ready, aldri{g) never: also when the 
plural ending e is added g remains mute; Ex. : mmrlceli{g)e 
Ting strange things ; and if the neutral ending t is added that 
also is mute: Huse(t) er f(Brdi{gt) the house is ready. 

2) after the diphthongs ei and au: sei{g) tough, Dei{g) 
dough, Bau{g) bow. 

2) in the word o{g) and, and in some compounds of Dag- 
godda{g) good day (how do you do), Manda(g) Monday, Tirs- 
da{g) Tuesday etc. ; sometimes in Ru{g) (or rugg), 

4) after a long vowel before I: Fu{g)l bird, Eu{g)le ball, 
Pry{g)l thrashing (but g always pronounced before I after a 
short vowel: Ex. : Hagl hail). 

5) sometimes after Z and r before an unstressed voweh 



KORWEGIAK SOUNDS. 51 

imorges (rr) this morning, imor(g)e?i to-morrow. Sometimes 
the meaning changes according as g is pronounced or not: 

g not pronounced : g pronounced : 

folge (11) to follow ; e7i Fblge (g) a consequence, 

et Folge (11) a company. fblgende following, Folgesoet- 

ning consequent (sentence), 
folgevcerdig worth following. 
scBlge (11) to sell, sol{g)te Scelger (Ig) a salesman. 

sold. 
spbrge (rr) to ask, Spbr{g)S' spbrgende inquiring, Spbrge- 
maal question. smtning interrogative sen- 

tence. 
126' ^ ti^s before vowels the sound of English A; Ex. : 
han he, Haai hope, liolde to hold, Mlse to greet. 

Note. A mute Ti is written before j and v in the following words: 
Hjerne brain, Hjelm helmet, ihjel to death, Hjerte heart, Hjort hart, 
H]oTdliQT&, H]em home, H]ul wheel, Hjcelp help, II]orne corner, lma{d) 
what, Jivem, hvo who, Jivis whose, if, lixilken which, hxor where (and 
compounds thereof Jivorfor why etc.), Hval whale, Hvalp whelp, Jwas 
sharp, IwcEsse to whet, Hmde wheat, Urnps wasp, Jiver each, I['Gerda{g) 
week day, hverken neither, Hoerv task, liverve to enlist, Jivid white, 
lividte to whiten, Hvil rest, Timne to shriek, RmvNel whirlpool, JiYiske to 
whisper, JiYisle to hiss, Hvittmg whiting, 'Kvcelv vault, Jivoese to hiss. 

Note. In the western and northern part of Norway the pronomi- 
nal words spelt with hv are regularly pronounced with k: kem, ka etc., 
while some others are pronounced with kv: kvass, kvit, kvalp etc. 

This pronunciation is not used by polite society, but the traveller 
may come across it. 

127- ^ ill some foreign words represents the sound of ks 
(many people still use this sign to express the same combina- 
tion of sounds also in domestic words, see § 123 note 2) ; Ex. : 
orthodox, Oxyd, extraordinary Examen. At the beginning of 
words of Greek origin it is usually pronounced s : Xerxes (pr. 
serses), Xylograf. 



52 NORWEGIAK SOUiiTDS. 

I 28- ^ is also used in some foreign words to represent the 
sound of s : Zebra, Zelot. 

I 29- ^ is used in foreign words representing the sound of 
s ; Ex. : Ceder cedar, Centaur, Ceremoni, Cigar, musicere to 
make music. In foreign words where it formerly was used to 
express the sound of h it is now the rule to write h, Greek 
proper nouns are now usually written and pronounced with 
h : Kimon, Kyros. 



NORWEGIAN ACCENT. 



130, In Norwegian speech a distinction must be made 
between the accent-stress and the musical accent. 

131. The accent stress as a rule rests upon the first syl- 
lable, which at the same time generally is the radical syllable. 
A secondary stress is sometimes, especially in compound words, 
laid on o following syllable, i. e. in most cases on the first syl- 
lable of the second part of the compound; Ex. : Bo''r{d)tcB'ppe 
table cover, La''mpeslcjceWm lampshade, Gla'sme''ster glazier. 
(' denotes primary accent, 'secondary accent). 

132' The accent strees is on another syllable than the first. 

1) in some foreign words; Ex.: Genera""!, Cognate Apo- 
stro% Apothe'k, 

2) in words (of German origin) with the prefixes be-, ge-, 
6r-, which never have the stress on the first syllable; Ex.: 
begri'be to understand, GevcB'r shot-gun, Gema^l consort, er- 
fa^re to learn, behje^nde to acknowledge, etc. 

Note. In vulgar speech these words are accented on the first syl- 
lable; hearhei'de to adapt has usually the stress on the first syllable when 
meaning to belabor. 



NORWEGIAI^r SOUISTDS. 53 

3) in some words with the prefix /or representing the Ger- 
man ver\ Ex. : Forfa'tter author, /or^aa' sig to offend, for- 
fb^re to seduce, Fornii\ft reason; h\x.i\ fo^ranstalte to cause to 
be dionQ^ fo'rarieide to manufacture, i^o'rJi^^^ prohibition (but 
forhy'de to prohibit), Fo'rhund alliance (hut forbi'nde sig to 
agree), Fo'rhold relation (but forho'lde sig to behave), Fo'r- 
lag publishing, Fo'vloegger publisher (but forWgge to pu- 
blish), Fo'rmue competency, Fo'rsog attemt (but forso'ge to 
try), Fo'rsvar defence (but forsva're to defend, Forsva^rer 
defender). When /or represents the preposition /©r (Germ, 
fiir, vor, Eng. fore) then it has the stress: i^o'rJo^i interces- 
sion, i^oVjy^r^promuntory, Fo'rgaard fore court, Fo'-rhcBng 
curtain, Fo^rtand foretooth, Fo'rnavn Christian name. Four- 
fold impediment (hut for fa'lde7i decayed). 

4) words with the negative prefix u (Eng. un-, in-) as a 
rule have the stress on the first syllable ; Ex. : U'naade dis- 
grace ; but adjectives ending in -elig and those ending in -lig 
which are derived from verbs and denote a feasibility have the 
stress on that syllable of the second part of the compound, 
which had the accent before the composition took place ; Ex. : 
ubeha'gelig disagreeable, umu'lig impossible, usaa'rlig invul- 
nerable, ugjo'rlig not feasible. Also a great many other ad- 
jectives in -lig and -ig have the stress on the second part of 
the Gomipovind: uanstm'ndig indecent, uscsdva^nlig unusual, 
uheHdig unfortunate, ua'gtet although, but u'farlig not dan- 
gerous, u'personlig impersonal, u'naturlig unnatural or una- 
tu'rlig. 

5) The suffixes -mc^e and -ri generally have the stress: 
Lmreri'nde (lady) teacher, GeneraU'nde general's wife, Hyk- 
leri' hypocrisy, Tyveri'- theft, (but Svi'neri and Gri^seri 
piggery, filthiness take the stress on the first syllable). The 
suffixes -else and -ning usually when added to compound words 



54 norwegia:n' sou:n^ds. 

cause the accent to be moved forward to the second part of 
the compound; Ex.: mis^'unde to envy, but Misu''7idelse 
envy, Tilvce'relse existence, Tilskik^kelse dispensation (by 
providence) but tiVskikke to dispense, Indle''dning introduc- 
tion bat i'ndlede to introduce); in A'fsceltelse removal, U'd- 
forelse execution^ O'yer^^^^^efee translation, A'fled7iing deriya- 
tion, W'dtapning draining and some others the accent is on 
the first syllable. Some derivative adjectives with -%, -^^ 
(cfr. No. 4) and -som have the stress on another syllable than 
the first (most of these words are of German origin) ; Ex. : op- 
Ti'-gtig sincere, cervce^rdig reverend, forsoeHlig intentional (but 
Fo''T8(Bt intention), veldce^dig charitable, alvo'rlig serious (but 
^'Z^;or earnest). 

6) note the following words : Taller^ken plate, Vidun^der 
miracle, undta^gen except, Hense^ende regard, vedkom^mende 
mfor mit Vedkom'mende as far as I am concerned (but ved'- 
kommejide pertaining to). 

133- Compound words as a rule have the principal stress 
on their first part (see § 131); Ex. : Ho^vedpine (pron, Ho^de- 
pine) headache, Hiis'-liovme' 8ter majordomus. But in some 
words the stress is on the second part of the composition : 

1) in some titles and geographical names; Ex : OherstldiH- 
nant lieutenant colonel, Stifta^mtmand high civil official, 
Kristianssa*ndj Fredriksha^ld (but Fre''drikstad)y Ostin^dien 
East India; fu3.'thermore a%c?o'5^ southeast, Nordve'-st north 
west etc. Velbaa'renhed lordship (and other words composed 
with vel-: Velgje'rni7ig deed of charity, Velanstm'-ndighed pro- 
priety, velsma'gende savory, velsi'gne to bless, Velsi^gnelse 
blessing (but VeVlevnet luxurious living, Vel'magt vigor, vel'- 
skalt well shaped etc.), Skoma^ger shoemaker, Budei^e milk- 
maid, SmaagutHer little boys, Smaapi'ger little girls (but 
Smaa^jenter little girls, has the stress on the first part) ; some 



NORWEGiAJsr sou:NrDS. 56 

words composed with halv half : halvanden one and a half, 
halvsjette five and a half; Aa^rhundrede century and Aa'rtu- 
sinde milennium as a rule have the accent on their first part 
(aar) but may also have it on the second. 

2) compounds the first part of which are prepositions have 
the stress on the first part when the word as a whole belongs 
to the same class of words as its second part, but on the second 
part when this is governed by the preposition ; Ex : O^verhoved 
(pron. O'verhode) chief, headman, but overho'vedet (pr. over- 
ho'de) upon the whole, tilsjb^s on sea, tilla^nds on land, igaar^ 
yesterday, imor'gen to-morrow, For'sommer spring, ForHid 
past tense, but forti^'den for the time being. Obs. Efterret^- 
ning news, but U^'uderretning or UnderreHning information, 
forW by, huifoWhigaa to pass by. 

des is unstressed when indicating a comparison: desvcB^rre 
the worse, alass, desmeWe the more etc. ; but when it repre- 
sents the old gen. of demonstrative pronoun ruled by the sec- 
ond part of the composition it has the stress: des^aarsag on 
that account, des'angaaende thereabout, des'foruden moreover 
besides that (but desu^den besides, desforme^ deist for that rea- 
son), i in adverbial compounds never has the stress: imo^d 
against, igje^n again, ihla'ndt among; saa is stressed when in- 
dicating manner: saaHydende reading as follows, sa^^^^^Me^ 
so called; but unstressed when indicating degree: saasna^rt as 
soon, saafre^mt provided, saavi^dt as far as. 

Kanhm'tideperh^ips, maaske' (pr. maasje' or maaske') per- 
haps; but ka'nske (pr. ka'nska or ka'nsja) perhaps. 

134. Different from the stress accent is the musical ac- 
cent. There are two kinds of musical accent employed in single 
words, the monosyllabic and the dissyllabic. The former is 
used in (original) monosyllables and in so far corresponds with 
the Danish ''St0dtone" (Glottal catch), while the dissyllabic 
accent belongs to (originally) dissyllabic or polysyllabic words. 



56 i^ORWEGIAN^ SOUKDS. 

135- The monosyllabic accent begins in a very low tone 
and ascends to a somewhat higher pitch, about a third or a 
fourth. This somewhat higher pitch is the regular base of 
the voice. 

136- The dissyllabic accent begins in a strong medium 
tone, descends about a third and ascends in the weak final syl- 
lable again about a fourth. 

[137. From professor Johan Storm's ''Englische Philolo- 
gie" are taken the following "tunes" of words with monosyl- 
labic and dissyllabic accent. As many originally monosyllabic 
words in the present language have two syllables, there will 
among the words with monosyllabic accent be found many 
dissyllables. 

Eastern Norway (Christiania). 
I. Monosyllabic accent. 



^^^^^m 



t^-isn . so'ldn . be - kd - tia.j 

II. Dissyllabic (compound) accent. 



^^-tr^-^^XT ) i' i' -^=^ m 



mci' 71371 TThcC-Twri. man-ns-slca-Ti^ man-jie-ska-n^ . 

Western Norway (Bergen). 
I, Monosyllabic accent. II. Dissyllabic (compound) accent. 



ja moy - na7v. 

so'-lsn . 



{ja yes, Solen the sun, Bogerne the books, Maaneii the 
moon, Menneskene the human beings)]. 



>s"ORWEGIAN^ SOUISTDS. 



57 



138. By their different musical accent are distinguished 
many pairs of otherwise consonous words. Monosyllabic words 
with the affixed definite article are, as far as the accent is con- 
cerned, considered as monosyllables. 



Simple or monosyllabic 
accent (') 
A 7)1671 (pron. am'men), amen. 

Bmder (pr. Bonnar) plasants. 



Bund-en ('nn) the bottom. 

Dyr-et (') the animal. 

Haar-et (haa'ret or haa're(t) 
the hair). 

Kok'ke7i the cook (male, in- 
definite: Koh), 

Lom^men the loon (Oolymbus 
arcticus, ind. Lom). 

SvaV-en the balcony. 

UI{d)en the wool. 

Jceger (name). 

Mbller (name). 

(jeg) hcerer (I) carry, (jeg) 
drager (I) draw. 

(jeg) Icegger (I) lay. 

(jeg) I'dber (p) (I) run. 
(jeg) IcBser (I) read, 
(jeg) piher (piper) (I) pipe, 
(jeg) skriver (I) write, 
(jeg) smtter (I) set. 
(jeg) s(Bl{g)er (I) sell. 



Compound or dissyllabic 

accent (') 

A7n7nen (pron. am'men) the 

wet nurse. 
B'6n7ierhQdin^ (sing. B0nne), 

5o^?zer prayers (sing. B0n) 

pron. B0n'n9r. 

iunden ('nn) tied. 
dyre expensive (plur.). 
liaar^et hairy. 

KoWhe-n the cook (woman). 
Lomm-en (') the pocket. 

Svale-n the swallow. 

ul{d)en woolly. 

Jmger hunter. 

Mbller miller. 

Bcerer carrier, (en) Drage7^ 

(a) porter. 
Legger (pr. laegger) calves (of 

the legs). 
Lbber (p) runner. 
Loeser a reader. 
Piher (pipar) pipes. 
Skriver penman. 
Soetter typesetter. 
S(Blger (g sounded) a seller. 



58 NORWEGlAi^ SOUKDS. 

The present tense of the strong verbs have the simple 
tone, that of the weak verbs the compound tone. The plural 
form of a great many nouns which in the old language formed 
their plural in — r still retains the simple tone, while those 
words which in the old language formed their plural in — ar 
and — ir have the compound tone. 

139. The musical accent of the words may be modified 
by the sentence or the tonic accent. Thus e. g. a gradual 
raising of the pitch of the voice through the whole sentence 
indicates a question or something unfinished, where a conti- 
nuation of the sentence may be looked for. 



ABBREVIATIOiq^S. 



140- III colloquial language there are used a great many 
abbreviations which do not occur in the more solemn language 
used on the pulpit, in recitals etc. 

These abbreviations chiefly consist in the dropping of the 
syllables de^ ^^(ke), ve^ especially in verbs; most of the words 
affected by these abbreviations are in some figurative or not 
very frequent meanings exempt therefrom. Especially may 
be noticed that the abbreviation as a rule does not take place 
in pres. partcp. (ending in ende)^ and before suffixes com- 
mencing with -e, -er, '671^ -she etc.) and in pres. and inf, pass, 
(ending in -es), 

a) abbreviations consisting in the omission of de: 
de dropped. de retained. 

J(?(c?e) to ask, pray, also be{de) Bededag day of prayer, Tilie- 
til Gud pray to God. delse adoration. 



iq^ORWEGIAK SOUKDS, 



59 



de dropped. 
bld{d)e to bleed. 

iry{de) (in past tense irydde) 
to trouble, iry sit Hode med 
(spelt : bryde sit Hoved) to 
trouble one's head about 
something. 

iry{de) sig om to mind. 

bry{de) en Gut med en Jente 
to tease a boy about a girl. 

l)y{de) to offer, ly{de) jpaa no- 
get to give a bid for some- 
thing or to invite to partake 
of something. 

f6{de) to bear (give birth) and 
to feed (especially is the 
abbreviation the rule in this 
latter meaning), sultefo sine 
Kreaturer to starve one's 
cattle. 

gli{de) to glide. 

glce{de) to gladden jeg glce{de)r 
mig til de{t) I anticipate it 
with pleasure. 

kloeide) to dress, at klm{de) 
paa en to dress somebody, 
det hl(B{d.e)r Dem godt it fits 
you well, KlcB{de)r clothes, 
Haandklce{de) towel, Kim- 
{de)sborste clothes brush. 

la{de) et Gevrnr to load a gun. 

la(d) det voere let that be, i. e. 
don't do that (see § 106). 



de retained. 

mit Hjcerte bidder my heart 
bleeds. 

bryde to break (a wholly dif- 
ferent word, pres. tense 
pron. bryte, past tense brod 
(pron. br0t). 



byde command, Loven byder 
the law commands, scelge til 
hoistbydende to sell to the 
highest bidder. 

du shot fbde en Son thou 
shallt bear a son, Fbdeland 
country of birth. Fbdemid- 
del aliment. 



Glidebane a slide. 

Glcede joy, de(t) gloeder mig 

at Jiore I am glad to hear it. 

beklwde et Embede to fill an 
office, Klcede cloth, sort 
Klcede black broadcloth, 
Ligklcede pall. 



Ladested small town (without 

a city charter). 
lade to leave undone. 



60 



:n^okwegiai^ soukds- 



de dropped. 

li{de) to suffer, jeg li{de)r oiidt 
I suffer hardships. 



det li(de)r langt paa Dag it is 
passing late into the day. 

ri{de) or ri{d)e to ride on 
horseback, en Ri{de)tur a 
horseback ride. 

raa(de) to advise, MtnnesTcet 
spaar^ Oud raar man pro- 
poses, God disposes. 

ska(de) to injure, de{t) lean 
ilcke sha{de) it can do no 
harm. 



smede^ pron. smi, to forge, 
smi Jem to forge iron. 



at 



spre{de) to spread, Epidemien 
spre{de)r sig over hele Byen 
the epidemic spreads all over 
the town. 



stri(de) to strive, at stri(de) 
med noget to strive with so- 
mething, at stri{de) imod to 
be opposed to. 



de retained. 

lide af en Sygdorn to suffer 
from a disease, Lideformen 
the passive voice, lide Shib- 
Irud paa sin Tro to make 
shipwreck concerning one's 
faith. 

Tiden lider time is passing. 

Berider a horse trainer, Ride- 
kunst the art of riding. 

forraade to betray, tilraadd to 
counsel, Omraade territory, 
Raaderum free scope. 

skade is the more common 
form in polite language ; det 
skader ikke at forsoge there 
is no harm done in trying. 

af Skade Ui(ve)r man klog 
injury makes wise. 

man maa mnede^ mens Jernet 
er varmt you must strike 
while the iron is hot. 

jeg skal sprede mine Fieader 
I shall scatter my enemies, 
du maa sorge for at ad- 
sprede ham you must take 
care to divert his thoughts. 

det strider mod Fornuften it 
is against all reason, at stri- 
de den sidste Strid to fight 
the last battle, to die. 



KOKWEGIAN SOUNDS. 



61 



de dropped. 

troe{de) to step, at trcs^de) en 
])aa Foden to step on some- 
body's toes, troe{d) <^/ retire! 



iety{de) to signify, livad hety- 
{de)r detie? what is the 
meaning of this? 



va{de) to wade. 

Bro{de)r brother, Fa{de)r fa- 
ther, Mo{de)r mother when 
signifying the degree of 
relationship; also in com- 
pounds : Far'bror father's 
brother, Farfar father's fa- 
ther, Farmor^ Morfar^ Mor- 
mor and Morhror^ Brorshai 
(p) : der er inlet Bror-skap i 
Kortspil relationship (bro- 
therhood) is of no avail in 
cards. 



Sadel saddle, pron. Sal in 8a- 
{de)lmager a saddler, uphol- 
sterer, in other cases usually 
pronounced Sale: siddefast 
i Salen to have a firm seat. 



de retained. 

trcede i ens Fodspor to follow 
one's example, det optrmder 
i Form af it appears in the 
shape of; at tiltrmde et Em- 
hede to enter upon an ofl&ce. 

at letyde en noget to give so- 
mebody something to un- 
derstand, at tyde en Ind- 
shrift to decipher an in- 
scription, antyde to inti- 
mate, hentyde to allude. 

Vadefii{g)l wading bird, Va- 
dested ford. 

Broder, Fader ^ Moder figura- 
tively : en Broder i Aajiden 
a brother in the spirit, Em- 
ledslroder a brother officer, 
Fostiroder sworn brother, 
B7'odermordivsitr\Gi&.e^ Bro- 
derkys brotherly kiss, hro- 
derlig fraternal, den hellige 
Fader the holy father, Fa- 
dermord parricide, Fader- 
mordere sideboards, Fader- 
hjcerte paternal heart, hun 
er allerede Moder she is al- 
ready a mother, Moderglcede 
maternal joy. 



62 



KORWEGIAK SOUN^DS. 



b) abbreviations by dropping ge. 



ge dropped. 

dra{ge) to draw, dra{ge) Pii- 
sten to draw the breath, 
dra{ge) Kjeiidsel paa to re- 
cognize, dra{ge) en Shdning 
to draw a conclusion, he- 
dra{ge) to defraud, jeg liar 
draget (pr. drad) hmn liele 
Vejen I have been dragging 
him all the way. 

si{ge) or si{g)e to say, pres. 
tense always si{ge)i\ past. 
sa{gde)^ imp. si{g)^ passiv 
si{g)es. 



ta{ge) to take, past tense tog 
pron. tok or to, imper. ta, 
ptcp. tagen^ taget pron. co- 
loquially tatt. 

Morgen pron. mar'n morning, 
imar'n to-morrow, imorges 
pron. imarres early this 
morning. 

no{ge)n^ no{g)e7i 7io{g)e{t) any- 
body, anything. 



ge retained. 

drage intr. to depart, med 
draget Svcerd with drawn 
sword, jeg andrager om Ud- 
soeitelse I apply for a respite, 
Tildragelse happening (and 
other derivatives). 



sige: 120^ siger og skriver et 
hundrede og tyve 120 — say 
one hundred and twenty—, 
efter sigende according to 
report, Frasigelse resigna- 
tion (and other derivatives). 

tags sometimes in religious 
diction and always in some 
derivatives: Ant ag else ^vl^- 
position, Fritagelse exemp- 
tion, etc. 

Morgenstund liar Guld i 
Mund early to rise makes a 
man wealthy, Morgenstjer- 
ne (a name). 

nogenUinde fairly, nogensinde 
at any time (sometimes 
pron. nagen — ). 



c) abbreviations by dropping ve. 
ve dropped. 
hli{ve) to become, remain, Nive 



ve retained. 



remain, 
past tense Ue{v)^ prtcp. hle- 
vet (pron. blit). 



in pres. ptcp, 
derivatives. 



and some 



KORWEGIAK SOUNDS. 



63 



ve dropped. 

fly{ve) OY fly{v)e to flie, i fly- 
{v)e7ide Fart in a flying 
hurry, paa flyende Flcekken 
(somewh. vnlg. ) right here 
on the spot. 

gi{ve) to give, gi{v) mig det 
give it me, prtcp. givet pr. 
git (in these abbreviated 
colloquial forms g is pro- 
nounced as/ (see § 118, 2). 



ha{ve) to have, pres. written 
and pronounced jeg har^ 
past tense spelt liavde pron. 
hadde, prtc. liavt pron hatt. 

Hoved pron. hode head: et 
godt Hode a clever person, 
ondt i Hode{t) pains in the 
head, Hodepine^ Hodeverh 
headache (always spelt Ho- 
vedpine etc.) 



ve retained. 

med fly vends Faner with ban- 
ners flying, den flyvende 
Eollcender the flying Dutch- 
man, en Flyvemaskine a 
flying machine, et Flyve- 
ilad a pamphlet. 

der gives Folk so7n there are 
people who, anse nog et for 
givet consider something as 
given, en given Stbrrelse a 
given quantity (in the un- 
abridged forms g usually 
is pronounced as g). 

liaVende having, passive haves 
or ]ia{v)es. 



Hoved chief: Hovedmanden 
the head, the leader, Ho- 
vedvmrk principal work. 



QUANTITY. 



141. Vowels are long 1) in monosyllables when ending 
the word ; Ex. : gaa to go, Ko cow. {Nn now has long or 
short vowel according as it has the sentence stress or not: 
nu^ kommer jeg here I am, nu kom'merjeg lam. commg now). 
2) in the accented syllable of dissyllables and polysyllables 
when followed by a single consonant with following vowel: 



64 NOKWEGIAN" SOUNDS. 

te -56 to read, Pr0've test, ]\^aa' de grsice. Exceptions: Abor 
perch (pron. abbor), Furti fir tree (pron. furru). Lever (vv) 
liver, Moro (rr) fun, Nidiiig (dd) villain, traitor. 

142. Vowels are short when followed by two or more 
consonants or a double consonant; Ex. : hoppe to jump, mork 
dark, mange many. 

Note 1. Before s^ a vowel may be short or long; Ex.: long: 
Bc^st wild beast, mest most; s li o r t : Best horse, Vest waistcoat. If the 
t belongs to an ending of inflection, then a preceding long vowel as a 
rule retains its length: lice'st hoarse (neut. of haes), hlce'st prtcp. of blcese 
to blow ''but Bhest, wind), loe'st prto. of IcEse to read; in the same manner 
a vowel is treated before I, n, r, with following inflective t:f0'Ue past tense 
offole to feel, girlt yellow, neut. of gul, me'nte past tense of mene to . 
mean, ho'rt prtcp. of hore to hear. 

Note 2. Before ?'(^) the vowel is long (see § 109); Ex.: Jo'r(d) 
earth etc ; but Svsdrd sword . Hjord herd with short vowel and pro- 
nounced d. 

Note 3. Before dl, dr, gr, pr and tr the preceding vowel as a rule 
is long, but may also be short; Ex.: long: adle to ennoble, bedre better, 
magre lean (plur ), kapre to capture, (make a prize of). Theatret the 
theater; short: snadre to cackle, pludre to jabber. 

143. Ill monosyllables ending in a single consonant the 
vowel may be long or short. It is as a rule long before Z>, ^, d, 
whether they be pronounced as written or as jt?, ^, t (or mute d) ; 
Ex. : Baab hope. Tog (a) expedition. Bad bath. Gab (p) gap. 
Tag (k) roof, bag (k) behind, lad (t) lazy. 

Note. Short is the vowel in some words ending in one of the 
above mentioned consonants (the consonant in that case being pro- 
nounced long); Ex.: Zaa^ cover, pron. lakk (but Ojenlnag eyelid as 
wiitten). Leg, gg, leg, Veeg, gg, wall, Eyg, gg, back, tig, gg, imper. of 
tigge to beg, lig, gg, imper. of Ugge to lie, Lab, bb, paw, Flab,hhy chaps. 

144. A vowel followed by a single /, ^i, r, 5, may be long 
or short, the consonant in the latter case being pronounced 
long; Ex. : Btd^ 11, hole, but hwl hollow, /or, rr, for, butyb'r 



NORWEGIA>r SOUNDS. 65 

travelled, vis, ss, certain, but vis wise, i¥e-« injury, but men, 
nn, but; a vowel followed by a single m is short except in E-m 
vapor. 

145. A vowel before a single final k, p, t as a rule is 
short, the consonant then being pronounced long; Ex. : Tah. 
kk, thanks. Hop, pp, jump. Hat, tt, hat. 

Exceptions are some specific Norwegian words which 
have never been accepted into the Danish literature and there- 
fore never have been spelled in accordance with Danish pro- 
nunciation: Aat food of fishes, Laat sound (=Danish Lyd), 
laaJc (being) in poor healt, Raak a lane of water through the 
ice, Lop a kind of wooden box. 

_ Note. In compound words the component parts retain their ori- 
ginal quantity; Ex.: ro(7-te5rf a Railroad timetable, Mod-stand (vt Mot- 
stand) opposition. 

146. A consonant is always long after a stressed short 
vowel; when an unstressed vowel follows then the consonant 
is written double; Hul hole, plur. Huller, Suppe soup, Smbr 
butter {Smbrret the butter). 

Note 1. It will be seen from the above examples that if during 
the inflection of words ending in a single consonant with a preceding 
short vowel the consonant comes before a termination commencing in 
a vowel then the consonant is written double. 

Note 2. Some foreign words retain (heir original spelling but are 
pronounced in accordance with the above rule ; Ex. : Artikel (pr artik 
kel) article, ^TO«?i(pr.Ammen), Titel (pr. Tittel) title. A consonant 
written double after an unstressed vowel is pronounced short; Ex • Hal 
lerken (pr. Tale'rken) plate. Parallel (pr. Parale'U). 

Notes. A consonant is not written double before another conso- 
nant even if it be long; ^x.:gammel old, plur. gamle (pr gammle)- ex- 
cept in compound words: Ex. : Manddrab homicide (Mand-drab) A long 
consonant is not as a rule written double at the end of words except in a 
few cases to avoid ambiguity; Ex. :i,m certain, to distinguish it from 



VI' s wise. 



66 VOWEL cha:n^ges. 



YOWEL CHAis'GES II«^ I:N"ELECTI0:N" AND WOED FORMATIOX. 



147. The Dano-Norwegian language employs two most 
important kinds of vowel changes, which the Danish and Nor- 
wegian grammarians call ^'AJlyd'^^ and ^'Omlyd''\ in English 
generally called "gradation" and "mutation". 

148. By gradation ( Aflyd, ablaut) we understand that 
system of the language enabling it out of the same root to 
form several stems by using different vowels; this principle 
is of great importance in the inflection of the verbs, but it 
also plays an important part in word formation; Ex. : owre to 
bear, bar bore, iaaren borne, tinde to bind, iandt bound, 
Baand ribbon, Bundt bunch, tage take, tog took. 

149. By mutation (Omlyd, umlaut) is understood the 
change of a vowel caused by assimilation to a following vo- 
wel (i, u) or consonant (;). The sound causing the change 
has in the present language as a rule disappeared, but it is shown 
by a comparison with the earlier stages of the language. The 
principle of mutation is active both in inflection and in 
word formation. The u-umlaut is noAV in inflection found only 
in the word Barn child, plur. Born. 

By the i-umlaut the following changes are caused: 
a — oe: Fader father, plur. FcBdre^ falde to idiil^ fmlde to fell. 
aa — ce: Haand hand, plur. Hoender, 

— 0: Moder mother, plur. M^dre^ Blod blood, hl&de to bleed. 
u — y: tung heavy, comp. tyngre^ huld gracious ^ hylde to swesiY 

allegiance to. 

Note. In the i-umlaut it is a following front sound that influences 
(palatalizes) a preceding back sound. 



ETYMOLOGY. 67 



ETYMOLOGY. 



ARTICLES. — GEKDERS. 



150. The Dane-Norwegian language has a definite and 
an indefinite article. The definite article has two forms, one 
employed in connection with a noun alone, the other used 
with a noun qualified by an adjective or with an adjective 
alone. The former is called the post-positive article (also the 
definite article of the substantives). The latter is called the 
prse-positive article (also the definite article of the adjectives). 

151, The Dano Norwegian language has two genders, 
X) o m m o n gender and neuter. The former comprises both 
the masculine and feminine of the old language. 

Note. In colloquial Norwegian speech there is still sometimes 
made a distinction between the masculine and feminine genders. The 
cases where such distinction is made will be mentioned in their proper 
places. 

152- The post-positive article is: 
common gender. neuter. plural. 

-en {-n) -et (-t) -ne {-ene), 

gen. -ens -ets -nes {-enes). 

Ex. : Hest-en the horse, Hus-et the house, Huse-ne the houses, 
Mcengde'7i the quantity, Vmrelse-t the room, Mcend-ene the 
men. Thus it appears that the forms •^, -t are used in con- 
nection with nouns ending in -e and the form ene in con- 
nection with words forming their plural without an ending. 

Note 1. This article was originally a demonstrative pronoun 
which in the old language has the form of Mnn, hitt, liinir and by 
being used enclitically with nouns gradually lost its independent charac- 
ter and a part of its substance. This enclitic definite article is one of 



68 ETYMOLOGY. 

the chief characteristics distinguishing the Scandinavian languages 
from the other Teutonic tongues. 

Note 2. The enclitic (post-positive) article, besides being used 
with substantives standing alone, is employed with substantives quali- 
fied by the following adjectives: al all, hegge both, selv self; Ex.: al Ma- 
den all the food, selve Kongen or Kongen selv the king himself, hegge 
Brodrene both the brothers. 

153- The prae-positive definite article is: 
comm. gender. neuter. pluraL 

deji de{t) de 

den store Man{d) the great man, de{t) nye Hus the new house; 
plun : de store Mceiid the great men. This article may also 
be employed with an adjective alone when used substantively : 
den g ode the good (man), de(t) skjonne the beautiful, beauty. 

Note 1. With the following adjectives the postpositive and the 
prsepositive article may be used promiscuously: Jiel whole, Tialx) half; 
Ex. : liele Bagen or den Jiele Dag the whole day, hahe B get or det Jialxe 
Bige half the kingdom, storste, mmdste Delen the g. eater, smaller part. 
Sometimes, mostly in poetry, the postpositive article may be used where 
the prsepositive is regularly employed: et Shud af gamle Heltestammfn 
a scion of the old stock of heroes, Svenske Kysteii or den svenske Kyst 
the Swedish coast. 

Note 2 Colloquially it is common in Norway to use both the 
post-positive and the prse- positive article at the same time with nouns 
qualified by an adjective; Ex.: den store Mande^i the big man. In the 
same manner the postpositive aiticle is in Norwegian often added to 
nouns determined by demonstrative pronouns: i denne Villaen in this 
villa here; den Mandea der that man there. This is noi used in Danish. 

Note 3. The proepositive article is sometimes in poetry and religi- 
ous style used with nouns not qualified by adjectives; Ex : Bremt til de 
Bomere the Epistle to the Romans, de Vover saa sagtelig tnlle the waves 
roll leisurely along. 

Note 4. The prsepositive article is originally the same word as 
the demonstrative pronoun deii, det, de which has lost its logical stress 
and consequently its accent stress and has come to be considered as a 
mere prefix. 



ETYMOLOGY. 69 

154. Some words are in Danish used Avithout an article, 
while the English language requires the article with the same 
words; Ex.: Ver den the worlds Verden er stor the world is 
great (but i Kunstverdenen in the world of art), Hojesteret 
the Supreme Court, Rektor the Principal (of the School). 

Furthermore may be noted that the article is never affixed 
to a noun that is qualified by a genitive : Kongens Slot the 
palace of the king, Naloens Hits the house of the neighbor. 
But if a complement {af of, with a noun) is used instead of 
genitive, then the article is used : Ejeren af Huset or Husets 
Ejer the owner of the house. 

Sometimes the praepositive article may be omitted with 
superlatives : forste Gang the first time, overste Stokvcerk the 
top floor, med storsie Fombjelse with the greatest pleasure. 
But in all these cases the article may also be used. 

155. The indefinite article has the form: 

common gender. neuter. 

en et 

Ex. : en Man{d) a m.an, et Has a house. 

Note 1. The indefinite article was originally the numeral en one. 

Note 2. The indefinite article always has its place before the noun 
and also before a qualifying adjective: en Mand, en stor Mand. But when 
the noun is connected with an interrogative word or an adjective quali- 
fied ly the adverb saa so, and/t^r too, then the article is placed after 
the interrogative word, or adjective; Ex. : hvilken en Mand what a man? 
hvor stort et Hus what a big house! saa ungt et Menneske such a youth! 
for tyk en Hals too thick a neck. In connection with mangen the article 
has its place after that word but before another adjective: mangen en 
Mand many a man, mangen en tapper Mand many a brave man. In con- 
nection with saadan such, the article may be placed before or after that 
word: saadan en Inland or en saadan Mand. In connection with a 
comparative and jo — desto the article is placed between the comparative 
and the noun; Ex.: jo ty^k^ere en Hals Tian har, desto snarere ska? den 



70 ETYMOLOGY. 

Tiugges over the thicker a neck he has, the quicker he shall be decap- 
itated. (In this case the article is more commonly omitted). 

Note 3. The indefinite article is used in connection with numerals 
to indicate an approximate number; Ex. : Hr. Sorensen var her ifjorteri 
Dage Mr. S. stayed here about two weeks. 



NOUNS. 



ge:n'der of the nouks. 



156- The genders of the nouns are only of importance 
syntactically, in so far as the adjective or the article assume 
different forms in conformity with the gender of the noun 
qualified by them. No generally binding rules can be given 
for the genders of the nouns in Danish-Norwegian, but the 
following intimations may be of some help: 

1) Most words denoting living beings are of common gender. 
En Maud a man, e7i Best a horse, e7i Hund a dog, en Ko a 
cow, en Flue a fly. 

Note 1. Some nouns comprising the natural masculine and femi- 
nine genders are neuter; Kvoeget, the cattle; Folket the people (also the 
compounds: et Mandfolk, et Kmnd^olk a male, female individual), Men- 
nesket man (generally), et Dyr an animal, etSmn a hog, et Faar a sheep, et 
^sel a donkey. Also several words indicating the young ones of animals: 
etLam a lamb, et Fol a colt, et Kid a kid. 

2) Names of trees, plants and stones are as a rule 
of common gender: Bogen the beech, e7i Eg an oak, Rugen the 
rye, Graniten the granite, Flinten the flint. 

Note 3. Neuter are: et Blad a leaf, et Boer a berry; (but in com- 
pounds common gender in Norwegian when used collectively; Ex.: 



ETYMOLOGY. 71 

Multebciren staor rod OYer Jiele Myren the cloudberry stands red all over 
the bog), et Gross a grass, et Straa a straw, et IrcB a tree. 

3) Names of seasons, months, days and other divi- 
sions of time are mostly common gender. Hbsien the fall, 

Vinteren the winter, Dagen the day. 

Note 3. Aaret the year, et Dbgn day & night, et Minutsi minute (but 
paa Minuten this very minute) . 

4) Names of wind and weather: Ostenvindeii the Bast 
wind, Sneen the snow, Stormen the storm. (But Hagl hail, 
may be c. and n. and Regii rain is in Norway usually n., 
Vejret the weather). 

5) Names of rivers and lakes: de7i ilaa Donau the 
blue D., Rhinen the Rhine, den gr'dnne Gjendin the green G. 

6) Names of sciences : Filologien^ Medicinen^ Mathema- 
tilcen. 

157. 1) Most collective nouns and names of substances 
are of neuter gender: Trmet the wood, Blyet the lead, Jernet 
the iron, Staalet the steel. But Malmen the ore, Vlden the 
wool, Melhen the milk, Vinen the wine, and others. 

2) Names af countries and citieBi det lille Danmark 
the little Denmark, det mcegtige Rom. the mighty R. 

3) Names of m o u n t a i n s : det hoje Mont Blanc the high 
M. B., det ildsprudende j^tna the fire spouting M. 

Note. Names of letters are in Denmark usually of neuter, in Nor- 
way of common gender: et stort (Nor. en sior) A a capital A. Also in 
Denmark et Bogstav a letter, i i Norway en Bogstav. Names ot languages 
are of common gender when combined with the post-positive article. 
Fra7is^67i the French language, Grmsken Greek; hut jpaa godt Norsk m 
good Norwegian. 

158- The following nominal suffixes form words af com- 
mon gender: 1) 'hed^ 'indej -ing^ (-^^^^^5 -ning) -er (nomina 
agentis), -671 (nomina actionis), -ske^ -dom\ Ex.: Storhed 



72 ETYMOLOGY. 

greatness, Lcererinde (lady) teacher, Stilling position, Virk- 
ning effect, GjcBsling gosling, Beiler suitor, Vaklen vacilla- 
tion, Barndom childhood. 

2) as a rule -sel^ -else^ -e (in derivatives of adjectives), -d, 
-^, st^; FcBvdseli'c^^iQ (but et Fcengsel prison, et StcBngsel har^ 
et Bidsel a bit, bridle). For else guidance (but et Spbgelse a 
ghost, et Vcerelse a room), Styrhe^irQughi^ Hbjde height, (but 
Mbrhet the darkness), Byrd birth, Fcerd behavior, Kunst art, 
Magt power (but et Skridt a step). 

3) Foreign words ending in -^07^, -isme^ -tet^ -ur^ -us: 
Kommunionen^ Radikalismen^ en Kalamitet (but Universite- 
tet), en Kultus^ en Habitus^ Kulturen (but et Kreatur) ; Dik- 
tatur may be used both as c. and n, 

159- 1) Nouns having the same form as the stem of verbs 
are usually neuter; Ex. : Badet the bath {iade to bathe), Kal- 
det the call (kalde to call), Raahet the cry (raabe to cry). 

Note. This rule does not apply in cases where the verb is derived 
from the corresponding noun (although, of course, also in that case the 
noun may be neuter); thus we have en Z)rom a dream (a^ c^rom77i<? to 
dream), en Leg a play {at lege to play), Irbsten the comfort (a^ troUe to 
comfort). Also Drik drink, Grav grave, Hjcelp help, >S^ra/ punishment, 
Strid strife, Ibrst thirst are common gender, and so are words ending in 
■gt as Frygten the fright {atfrygte to fear), and those in -ang, to which 
correspond verbs in -inge iynge), Sangen the song {at synge to sing), 
Klangen the sound {at klinge to sound). 

2) The following suffixes as a rule form words of neuter 
gender: -domme^ -ende^ -niaal^ -ri^ -skab; med mit Vidende 
with my knowledge, (but i en Henseende in one respect, den- 
ne Tidende this news, en Tiende a tithe), Kongedbmmet the 
kingdom, et Spbrgsmaal a question, Tyveriet the theft, Bage- 
riet baker's shop, mit Kjendskab my knowledge, jFgteskaiet 
marriage (but derivatives of adjectives are of common gender: 
Troskaien the faithfulness, Ondskaben the wickedness). 



ETYMOLOGY. 



73 



3) Foreign words ending in -^^;, -ment^ -om^ -um are 
neuter; et Komylement {hut e7i Komphme)it); et Ulti7natum^ 
et Arkiv, et Axiom. 

160. Compound words have the gender of the last com- 
ponent part: en Bordplade a table slab, et Hesteben a horse's 
leg. 

Exceptions: En Odeland a spendthrift, en OraasJcioeg a greybeard, 
et Folkefazrd a race, et Gjenfxrd a ghost , et Vidnesbyrd a testimony, dette 
Perlemo{de)r this mother-of-pearl, BroRudevinet the brandy, Forskjellen the 
difference (but Orcendseskjell'et the border line). 

161. Some words imply a different meaning according as 
they are used in common gender or neuter. In other cases 
originally different words have the same sound, but disagree 
in gender. 



common gender 
Arken the ark. 
en Bid (Norw. Bit^ Bete) a 

bit, piece. 
en Bo (in compounds Naho 

etc. a neighbor). 
en Brug a custom. 

en Buk a he-goat. 
Felten the campaign. 
en Fro a frog. 
e}t Fyr a fellow, chap. 
en Folge a consequence. 
Lejen the rent. 
en Lent a trap. 
en Lod share, lot. 
en Nbgle a key. 

en Raad (in compounds : Stats- 
raadj etc.) a councillor. 



neuter 
et Ark a sheet (of paper). 
et Bid (dd) a bite. 

et Bo an estate. 

et Brug (Norw.) establish- 
ment, concern. 

et Buk a bow. 

Feltet the field, sphere. 

et Fro a seed. 

et Fyr a light-house. 

et Folge a retinue. 

Lejet the couch. 

et Lem a member. 

et Lod a weight. 

et Nogle (D.) a ball (of yarn) 

et Raad a council, advice. 



74 



ETYMOLOGY. 



common gender 
Rimen the hoar frost. 
Risen the rice. 
en Segl (D.) a sickle. 

en Shrift a (hand) writing. 
en Spand (D., et Spand N.) a 

pail. 
en Stift a tack. 
en Som a seam. 
en Ti7ig a thing. 
en Tryk a print. 

en Trmk a draught (of air). 
Vaaren the spring. 

67^ Vcerge a guardian. 
^M F(«z; a tissue. 
F(^W6 power (i al sin VoeJde 
in all his might). 

en j^sel (D., et M, N.) an ass. 



neuter 
Rimet the rhyme, 
^is^^ the fagots, rod. 
et Segl a seal (also et Sejl a 
sail). 

et Skrift a writing, a book. 
6^ Spared a span, a team. 

^^ Stift a diocese. 
6^ iSom (D., eji Som N".) a nail. 
et Thi7ig {Ting) assembly. 
et Tryk (N. also et T) a 

pressure. 
et Trcek a feature. 
et Vaar (D., N. et Var) a 

cover, 
e^ Vcerge a weapon. 
^io^^e^ F<^y nonsense. 
Voelde (N. in compounds 

Enevoeldet the absolute 

monarchy; D. Enevmlden). 

et ^sel a donkey. 



In some words the gender is not quite fixed, so they some- 
times appear as neuter, at other times as of common gender. 
Ex. : Fond (D. en and et^ N. always et) fund, Helbred (D., 
always c. N.) health, Katalog (D., always c. N.) catalogue, 
Lak (D. c. and n.. No. always n.) sealing wax, Log (D. al- 
ways c. N.) onion; Tarv requirements. Sometimes the gender 
differs in Danish and Norwegian, as can be seen from some 
of the examples given above ; Kontingent is in D. n., in N. 
c. Kind cheek, D. c, N. mostly n. 

162. Something different from the question of gram- 
matical gender is the circumstance that the language in some 



ETYMOLOGY. 75 

^ cases has different words to denote the natural genders. Thus 
the genders can be distinguished: 

1) by adding the feminine ending -inde to the masculine 
word: Greve count — Grevinde countess; LcBrer teacher — 
Lcererinde female teacher; Love lion — Lovmde lioness; 

2) by adding the feminine ending -she to the masculine 
word: Opvarter waiter — Opvartershe waitress (usually Op- 
vartningsjomfruen)\ Beridir riding-master, circus-rider — 
Beriderske female rider. 

KoTE. The ending -she is usually applied to denote persons of 
lower position than -inde, but sometimes both may be used: Sangerinde 
and Sangerske (less common) songstress. 

3) by adding the words -hone woman, -pige girl, -jomfru 
miss to the masculine words or to the corresponding verbs : 
Vasherhonen, Vasherpigen the laundress, Badehonen^ Bade- 

jomfruen the woman attendant (at the bath), but Badetjene- 
ren the man attendant. 

4) in some foreign words the foreign feminine endings 
are retained : Baronesse^ Comtesse^ Prinsesse^ Restauratrice 
woman restaurant keeper. 

5) The two natural genders of animals are usually denoted 
by Han he and Hun she placed before the name : Hanhjbrii^ 
Hunljorn ( Jf . Biiigse^ Binne) he-bear, she-bear Hanhat^ Hun- 
hat (X. Kjoette) tom-cat, tib-cat. But in some cases there are 
different words for the two genders Ex, : Buh — Gjed he-goat, 
she-goat, Voeder — Faar (N". Sau) ram — sheep, ewe. 



liq-FLECTIO^sT OF XOUi^S. 



162b. The nouns of the Danish and Dano-Norwegian 
language have two cases and two numbers. The cases 
are : nominative and possessive (genitive). 



76 ETYMOLOGY. 

163. The formation of the possessive. The posses- 
sive is formed by adding -s to the nominative (but without 
apostrophe). 

S. PI. 

Nom. Mand Masnd. 

Poss. Mands Maends. 

When the noun has the postpositive definite article, the s 
is added to the latter : 

Nom. Manden Maendene Huset Husene. 

Poss. Mandens Masndenes Husets Husenes, 

KoTE 1. Nouns ending in 5 (z, x) form their possessive by adding 
es; Ex.: den lille Gaases Mening the opinion of that little goos. Para- 
dises Tindende ^^7fZ6 the running fountain of Paradise; paa et forgyldt 
Paladses flade lag on the flat roof of a guilt palace. But as a rule the 
possessive form of these words, except in the definite form, is avoided. 
Proper nouns ending in — s may have their possessive of same form as 
the nominative, only adding an apostrophe, or an 8 with preceding 
apostrophe may be added. Ex.: Sokrates' of Socrates, Valders's 
Fjelddale the mountain valleys of Yalders. Biblical nouns are sometimes 
used with the Latin gen. form : if(?5d Z^^ Moses' law, Pauli Breve St. 
Paul's epistles. 

Note 2. A prepositional complement following the noun which it 
determines is considered as one word witliit and the possessive sis added 
to the complement: Kong en af Danmarks Brystsukker the king of Den- 
marks barley sugar (a kind of coagh drops), Keiseren over alle Russeres 
Rige the realm of the Emperor of all Russians. 

When several nouns are used to denote one person or thing only the 
last word gets the s\ Kong Olavs Hoer the army of king 0. 

Note 3 Some names of cities, especially those ending in a vowel, 
have their possessive (when employed as definitive genitive) like the 
nominative: Kristiania By , 'Kristiania Universitet etc. the city of Ch., 
the university of Ch., but Kristianias Indhyggere the inhabitants of Ch. 
In the same manner: Hamar Stift the diocese of H., Kallundborg By, 
Sorb Academi, Aalborg Skole the school of Aa., Kongsberg Solvvoerk the 
silver mines of K. (but BergensBy, Irondhjems Bomkiike the Cathedral 
of T. Kjijbenhavns Universitet the university of Copenhagen). 



ETYMOLOGY. 77 

Note 4. In the old language the possessive s was added both to the 
article and the noun; Ex : la?id, gen. landsins. A rest of this mode of 
inflection is found in such expressions as: Landseiis Kost a country bill 
of fare, Livsens Ivcb the tree of life, du er Dbdsens you are a dead man. 
Also such forms as: Hjcertens Lyst the desire of the heart, Alter ens Sa- 
kramente the Lord's supper, find their explanation in the old language 
where the genitive of the definite article neuter had the form of i n s 
(or ns ), not ets [is) as now. A rest of an old genitive plur. is found in 
such expressions as: tilliaande {ga% en tilJiaande to assist one); tilgrunde 
to the bottom, tilgode due, tilfulde fully, Ullage back,(0. N. til handa to 
the hands etc). 

164. Syntactical remar ks about the use of 
the possessive. The possessive is employed to convey 
the meaning of possessive, subjective, objective and definitive 
genitive. In stead of the possessive may insomemeanings 
be used a complement with af (or colloquially til), Han er 
Son af sin Fader and han er sin Fader s Son he is a son of his 
father, Hunden til Pedersen and Pedersens Hund P's dog. 
The possessive meaning i. e. the pure relation of property 
can, different from English, never be expressed by af. If two 
kinds of genitive (poss. and obj. or subj. and obj.) occur in 
connection with one word, then the objective genitive must 
be expressed by af. Thus it is wrong to say : Hr, Pedersens 
Af straff else af Hr, Kristensen to indicate the punishment of 
Mr P. by Mr. K. ; it means Mr. P's punishment of Mr. K. 

A peculiar use of the possessive form is to express a past 
time in such expressions as: igaaraftes last night, iaftes 
last night (but iaften this night) ; iforgaars the day before 
yesterday, ilwstes last fall, ivaares last s]3ring. 

The possessive form is very common as the first part of com- 
pound words :Lands7nand co\xntTjma>n^Jirigsskib warship, ska- 
c?^5Zo5 indemnified (probably analogously with this latter word 
are formed the following with irregular genitive in - esifrugtes- 



78 ETYMOLOGY. 

Z(>5 fruitless, magtesVos^ TcraftesUs^oyfQYlQ^^^ stundeslos fidgety, 
trosteslos disconsolate). The genitive is especially frequently 
used when the first part of the composition is itself a compound 
word : Kirketaarnsur a church steeple clock (but Taarnur a 
tower clock) : Sandstensmur a sand stone wall (but Stenmur a 
stone wall)Such possessives may sometimes be found as first part 
of a composition even if there is no corresponding nominative; 
Ex. : Fralandsvind a land breeze ( Vhiden staar fra Land 
the breeze sets from land). 

Note: Neither possessive nor a/ is used to connect a name of ma- 
terial to a name of measure: ei Glas 01 a glass of beer, en Ilaske Vin a 
bottle of wine, en londe Poteter a barrel of potatoes etc. 

165. Remains of an old gen. plur. are found in a great many 
compound words the first part of which ends in e (0. N. a), 
Sengested bedstead, Stoleben chair's leg, Barneaar years of 
childhood {Borneial childrens ball, Bbrnehave kindergarten 
are exclusively Danish, in N. they say — or are taught to 
say — Barnehal^ Barnehave), 

166. Remains ofan old d a t i v e is found in the ad- 
verbial phrases: ad Aare next year, itide in due time. Hive 
alive, paafoerde abroad, at work, igjmre in progress, etc. 



THE FORMATIQ]^ OF THE PLURAL. 



167. The plural is formed in the following manners : 

I) by adding r or er to the singular, with or without 
' 'mutation" (see § 149). 

II) by adding e to the singular, in a few cases with ''muta- 
tion." 

III) the plural has the same form as the singular, except 
that in a few cases the vowel is changed by "mutation". 



ETYMOLOGY. 



79 



168- First Declension. 
Paradigms : Flaade fleet, 
suly Kjedel kettle : 

Indef. Sing. Def. Sing, 
N. Flaade 
Poss. Flaades 
Rige 



Rige empire, Tand tooth, Kon- 



N. 
Poss. 

Poss. 

N. 
Poss. 

N. 
Poss. 



Riges 
Tand 
Tands 
Konsul 
Konsuls 
Kjedel 
Kjedels 



Flaaden 

Flaadens 

Riget 

Rigets 

Tanden 

Tandens 

Konsulen 

Konsulens 

Kjedlen 

Kjedlens 



Indef. Plur. 
Flaader 
Flaaders 
Riger 
Rigers 
Tasnder 
Taenders 
Konsuler 
Konsulers 
Kjedler 
Kjedlers 



Def, Plur. 
Flaaderne. 
Flaadernes, 

Rigerne 
Rigernes. 

Taenderne. 

Taendernes. 
Konsulerne. 
Konsulernes. 

Kjedlerne. 

Kjedlernes. 



Remarks. 1) Words ending in an unaccented -e add -r. 
Exceptions: Oie eje, has plural Oine; Tilfcelde ca=e, and Ore a 
coin have plural the same as singular. Antiquated is Oren 
plur. of Ore ear, and Ok^ne ( Oxne) plur. of Okse ( Oxe) ; 
Menneske man (generally) has plur. Mennesker but def. form 
Menneskene^ Bonde peasant forms it plural with "mutation": 
Bonder, 

2). Words ending in stressed vowel (or an unaccented 
vowel that is not e) add -er: Toga -Togaer\ Mo heath Moer. 
Except. : Sko shoe plur. same as sing. 

3) The folloving monosyllables form their plural with -e r 
and "mutation". 

And duck; Mark a weight (|-lb. also unchanged in plural) ; 
Rand border, Stand state, (condition of life), Stang pole. 
Tang thongs, Haand hand, Stad city, Xraflipowev. (Plural: 
^nder (N.) Mcerker^ Rcend^r^ Stcender^ Sicenger^ Tcenqer^ 
Hcender^ Stceder^ Krcefter). N. Skaak shaft (of a sleigh) 



80 ETYMOLOGY. 

plur. Skjceker. Bod fine, plur. Bbder ; Fod foot, pi. Fodder ; 
Rod loot^ pi. Rodder-^ Bog hook^ pi. Bbger\ N. Glo{d) live 
coal, pi. Glbder (or G^/^ir) ; IsT. Not seine, plur. Nbter, Raa 
yard (ship's), Tl:^a toe, Alo claw, have their pi. D. Rceer^ 
Toeer^ Klber (se § 17); N. Rmr^ Toer^ Klbr. Ko cow, D. 
pi. Kjber or Kber (se § 17). N. ^'(ir (Def. Kjbrne or N. 
Aj/'tire/^e). 

Most of these words, in spite of consisting in j)hii*al of 
two syllables, have the monosyllabic accent (see §§ D. 76, 
N. 134). 

4) A great many monosyllables of common gender form 
their plural in ~tfr without mutation: Ex.: Aander spirits, 
Sager cases, Floder rivers, and with doubling of final conso- 
nant: Sbnner sons, Enapper buttons; and N. Gutter boys. 

In some words the Danish and the Norwegian forms of 
the language disagree: Plads place, D. Pladser^ N. Pladse, 

Also the following neuter monnosyllables form their plu- 
ral in -er : Bryst breast, Gods estate, Hul hole, Lem member. 
Loft ceiling, Punht point, Skjbrt skirt, Syyi sight, VcBrh 
work; so also the polysyllables: Bryllup wedding, Hoved 
head, Herred township, Hundred^ Tusind thousand, Lcsrred 
linen, Linned linen. Marked fair. 

5) Words ending in -el, en, -ing, -hed, -skaband 
derivative -s t {t) and d : Gjcester guests, Kiinster arts, Toyter 
expeditions, Bygder settlements. Words ending in -e 1 and 
some ending in -e n drop their e before the ending : Kjedel 
kettle, Kjedlery Lagen (bed)sheet, Lagner or Lageiier, 

In the same manner : Foged sheriff, plur. Fogder. 

Note: Olding old man, Sloegtning kinsman, Ingling young man 
as a rule form their plural in -e, but may also take -er: Engel angel, 
DjoBvel devil, Himmel heaven form their plural by adding -e and drop- 
ping the e of their second syllable: Engle, Bjazvle^ Himle (see § 169). 



ETYMOLOGY. 81 

6) Most foreign words add -er: Kons^jtler^ Patriarkevy 
Prindser etc. But Vest plur. Veste, Foreign words ending 
in um drop tlieir um before -er: Verbum — Verier. But 
Album — Albums or Albumer, Pretiosum — Pretiosa. 

Also proper nouns used in plural to denote several persons 
of same name. Ex. : Hedviger^ Orstederne but Ohlenschllxgere, 
Furthermore other classes of words (not adjectives) used 
substantively : Jaerne og Neierne the yeas and noes. 

169. Second Declension. 

Paradigms: Stol chair, Hat hat, i^a^er. father. 





Indef. Sing. 


Def. Sing. 


Indef. Plur. 


Def. Plur. 


N. 


Stol 


Stolen 


Stole 


Stolene. 


p. 


Stols 


Stolens 


Stoles 


Stolenes. 


N. 


Hat 


Hatten 


Hatte 


Hattene. 


P. 


Hats 


Hattens 


Hattes 


Hattenes. 


N. 


Fa(de)r 


Fa(de)ren 


Faedre 


Fsedrene. 


P. 


Fa(de)rs 


Fa(de)rens 


Faedres 


Fsedrenes. 



Most monosyllables of common gender ending in a con- 
sonant follow this declension. Also words ending in -e r 
irrespective of gender ; some of these drop the e of their last 
syllable before the e of the ending: Ager field, plural Agre; 
Fingre fingers, Skuldre shoulders. 

But most words ending in -e r retain the e of the second 
syllable in plural: Ankere anchors, Bcegere cups, Undere 
wonders. Especially all nouns denoting persons belonging to 
a trade or nationality or engaged in an occupation, ending in 
-e r : Bagere bakers, Sangere singers, Tyskere Germans. Words 
ending in plural in -ere drop their last e before the article: 
Bcegere — Bcegerne. 

Note. In Denmark they say: en Dansker, pi. Banskerne, a Dane, 
and en Svensker, pi. Svenskerne, a Swede. 

In Norway they say: en Danske, plur. Dansker, and en Svenske^ 
plur. Svensker. 



82 ETYMOLOGY. 

The following words form their plural in -e with "muta- 
tion": Bro{d)er brother, Br6dre\ Moder mother, Modre; 
Fader father, Fcedre ; Batter daughter, B'dtre, 

Note 2. Colloquially it is common in Norway to give those words 
of common gender, which in the literary language take plural -e, the 
ending -er: Hester, Hunder, Hatter etc. Also the nenters H user, Gulver 
etc., but most neutei s are unchanged in plural; Ex.: Bord tdihle^ lag 
roof. Before the article -n e the r is dropped in the pronunciation, so 
they say: Hestene, Hattene, Guttene etc. Broder etc. never add -er. 

170. Third Declension. 

Paradigm: Ord word. 
N. Ord Ordet Ord Ordene. 

P. Ords Ordets Ords Ordenes. 

Most neuters ending in a consonant follow' this declension. 
Exceptions : Bord table, Brev letter, Gulv floor, Hus house, 
iVav>^name, Skib^\i\^^ aS'o^'^ parish, Tag roof, Toug (N. Tang) 
rope and some others take -e : Borde etc. ; others take -e r (see 
§ 165, 4 and 5, and § 169 note 2.) ''Mutation" without any 
ending have*, i¥a?^<^ man, plur. Mcend\ Gaas goose, plur. 
Gjces (D. also Gcbs) Barn child has plural Burri and Barne- 
ham grandchild pi. Borneiorn. These are the only remains 
of the U-mutation of the old language. In Norway they say 
(and have commenced to write) : pi. Barn smd Barnebarn (the 
same as singular). 

I7i. Some nouns have regularly no plural on account of their 
signification. Such are proper and collective nouns, names of 
substances, and abstract nouns, indicating a quality. Ex. : 
Bjornson^ Jem iron, Godlied goodness. So also words, which 
otherwise take a plural, when they are used collectively. Ex. : 
Har dufaaet meget Fisk (or mange Fish) idag have you caught 
many fish to-day. Words indicating measures or values when 
ending in a consonant have, as a rule, in that meaning and 



ETYMOLOGY. 83 

when connected with a numeral, no plural. Ex. : To Fod Vand 
two feet of water (but to Fodder two feet, as part of the 
body). Other such words: Alen ell, Meter ^ Fad cask, Anker 
anker, Daler Dollar, Glas glass. But Krone crown (coin), 
Tonde barrel, and others ending in -e take plural ; also Pot 
{Potte) quart, Okselioved hog's head, plur, Okselioveder^ 
Mark (|- lb) may have plur. N. Mcerker^ but also unchanged. 
Bog quire, plur. Bbger^ Favn cord and fathom pi. Favne, 
LcBst^ last (two Eeg. tons) pi. Lcester, Also: en Hwr paa 1000 
Mand an army of 1000 men. 

Other nouns only occur in plural; Ex. : Formldre parents, 
Forfoedre ancestors, Sbskende brothers and sisters (at least one 
of each), Penge money, Indvolde entrails, Briller eyeglasses, 
Tyvekoster (also Koder alone) stolen property, Hbns chickens. 

Others have singular but in a different meaning from the 
plural: Eloeder clothes, but Klcede cloth (see also § 140), 
Kopper {Smaakopper) smallpox, but Kop — Kopper cup, Mid- 
ler means (money), Middel means (instrument). 

Note: Colloquially it is common to say: Jeg er gode Venner med 
ham I am on friendly terms with him. 



THE ADJECTIVES. 



I. Declension of Adjectives. 

172. The adjectives have a stronger indefinite and 
a weak or definite form. 

173. The indefinite form has its neuter ending in ^, its 
plural in -e. The definite form has the ending ~e all through 



84 ETYMOLOGY. 

Paradigm : lang long. 

c. g. neut. plur. 

Indefinite lang langt lange. 

Definite lange lange lange. 

Note. The definite form of tlie adjective may be used as a sub- 
stantive and may then take the possessive ending -s; Ex.: Defattiges 
Olceder er{e) af en anden Art end de riges the pleasures of the poor are of 
another kind than those of the rich. 

Note 2. A remnant of an old accusative singular m is found in 
poetical language: jpaa Hoienloftssal in the high vaulted hall; i dyhen 
Dal in the deep valley. 

I74« The following adjectives do not add any t in the 
neuter : 

1) Adjectives ending in a distinctly derivative sk: Ex.: 
krigersk warlike, Norsk Norwegian. But rask quick, falsk 
false, /Ws/fc and /(9r5/^ fresh add /: et raskt Ldl a quick run. 

2) Adjectives ending in a vowel; except aa: et sanddru 
Menneske a truthful person; et stille Fa/^^^ a quiet lake; 6^ 
ode Sled a desolate place. But et Uaat Baand a blue ribbon. 
Exceptions are further : ny new, fri free, N. stb steady ; neut. 
nyt^frit^ stot. 

3) Adjectives ending in -tj Ex. : let easy; and some adjec- 
tives ending in -d: glad joyful, lad lazy, led loathsome, kaad 
wanton, reed frightened, Icerd learned, fremmed strange and 
foreign words such as absurd^ nitid, solid^ splendid, 

4) Furthermore those ending in -e s or -s with preceding 
consonant: f miles common, af sides out of the way; and ny- 
modens newfangled, stakkels poor, gjoengs current. 

Note. With adjectives ending in -i g or -1 i g a Hs added in neuter 
in writing, but neither g nor t is pronounced; see §§ (D.) 43 and 
(N.)125. 

I 75- A long vowel with or without a following d (Danish 
pron. 6, Norw. mute or pron. t) is shortened before the t of 



ETYMOLOGY. 85 

the neuter; Ex. : ilaat of Uaa blue, Ui{d)t of Mid (D. pr. 
bli6, ISr. bli-) mild; m{d)t of hlod (D. pr. bloS, N. blot). 

176. The following pronominal adjectives ending in -en 
drop their oi before the t of the neuter : megen — meget much, 
7nangen — mangt many, nogen some, ingen — intet none ; an- 
den — andet other, livilken — livilket which, en — et one, din — 
dit your, min — mit my, sin — sit his, her ; N. liden — lidet. 
So also past participles ending in -en: shreven — skrevet 
written, ege7i — eget in the meaning of own; but in the mean- 
ing of peculiar egent : et egent Menneske a peculiar person ; 
sceregeny scereget and smregent peculiar, voxen — voxent adult, 
and in the same manner other adjectives which were originally 
past prtcpls. but are now used as pure adjectives : et voxent 
Menneske a grown-up person; but han er voxet he has grown. 

Note. The adjective liden is now obsolete in Danish, only occasion- 
ally used in poetry, while it still continues to be the regular form in 
Norwegian. In Danish they use the originally definite form lille both 
as definite and indefinite, both as neuter and common gender. As plural 
of D. lille N. liden is employed smaa, 

YlTi. Adjectives ending in -e 1, -e n and -e r drop the e of 
their last syllable before e of the plural or definite form : 
gammel — gamle old, mager — magre lean, hoven — liovne swollen. 

Adjectives ending in an unstressed -e t form their plural 
and definite form in -e d e ; Ex. : stribet — strilede stripet, but 
let — lette light, violet — violette. 

Note. In Norwegian colloquial language the adjectives ending in 
-et are often given the form of -e t e, even in the indefinite form; Ex. : 
stripete striped, Veien er sienete the road is stony. 

178- The following adjectives do uot add any -e in plural 
or in the definite form : 

1) Those ending in -e: stille quiet, cegte genuine, ode 
desolate. 



86 ETYMOLOGY. 

2) Those ending in -es or -s wiih preceding consonant. 
Exception : tilfreds satisfied always takes the -e, and aflcBgs 
obsolete, dagligdags commonplace, and gammeldags old- 
fashioned may take it; Ex. : det altid tilfredse Barn the al- 
ways satisfied child. 

3) Most adjectives ending in a stressed vowel; Ex.: Uaa 
blue, tro faithful, cedru sober, hly bashful ; fri and ny may in 
D. be written and pronounced with or without -e, frie and 
nye or fri and ny ; in Norwegian always with -e : nye^ frie ; 
so also N. stbe, 

179. The following adjectives lack the definite form in 
-e : megen much, anden other, egen own (but egen peculiar, 
egne), N. lideji has the definite form lille, 

The^-e adjectives also have irregular plurals: megen — 

mange^ anden — andre ; lidea uses as plural smaa small ; faa 

few occurs only in plural ; smaa, however, may also occur in 

singular, mostly neuter with collective words : smaat Kvceg 

small cattle, den smaa the little one. 

Note. In Norwegian colloquial language anden may take the defi- 
nite form den andre in stead of den anden the other. 

180- Indeclinable are, besides those adjectives ending in 
-e, -e s or -s with preceding consonant mentioned in §§ 174, 
4 and 178, land 2, the following : idel sheer, lutter mere, nok 
sufficient, kvit rid of, aleiie alone (only used predicatively), 
var in the expression Hive var to become aware of (but N. 
adj. var cautious, is declinable). Also lig like, equal may in 
mathematics and elsewhere be used unchanged : et Tal lig 
Summeyi af to andre a number equal to the sum of two others. 

181. Use of the definite form of the adjectives: 
The definite form of the adjective is used 1) after the definite 
article : det store Hus the big house ; 2) after a possessive pro- 



ETYMOLOGY. 87 

noun or a genitive; Ex. : min nye Hat my new hat; min Eu- 
sines lyse Parasol mj cousin's light parasol; 3) after a de- 
monstrative pronoun and after the relative pronoun Jivilken 
which; Ex. : dette hoie Tree this high tree, hin sorte Eat that 
black cat. Han reddede med personlig Livsfare ti Menneske- 
liv, hvilken tapre Haiidliicg skaffede ham en Medalje he saved 
with danger for his own life ten human lives, which brave 
deed procured him a medal ; 4) in expressions of address and 
in apposition to a personal pronoun : Ejcere Ven Dear friend, 
jeg elendige Mand I miserable man. 

Note. For examples of the definite form of the adjective used with 
the postpositive article see § 153, Note 1. 

182. Agreement of the adjective with its 
noun. The adjective must agree with its noun in gender 
and number both as attribute, apposition and predi- 
cate. Et stort Hus a big house, store Huse big houses; 
Huset^ et stort rodmalet the house, a big red one, Hnset er 
stort the house is big. Vore Ansigter er{e) solbrcendte our 
faces are sunburnt. (As for the superlative forming an ex- 
ception as predicate see § 189.) 



II. COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES. 



183- The adjectives form their -comparatives in -ere 
(-r e) , superlative in -est (-s t) . 

glad — glad gladere gladest. 

rig — rich rigere rigest. 

Adjectives ending in -e add only -re and -st. 
ringe — slight ringere rinqest 



88 ETYMOLOGY. 

Adjectives ending in an unaccented -ig (-lig) -som add 
in superlative only -s t : 
fattig — poor fattigere fattigst. 

noisom — easily contented nbisommere noisomst. 

Adjectives ending in a single consonant with preceding 
short vovrel double their final consonant before the compara- 
tive and superlative terminations : 

smuk — nice smukkere smukkest. 

Adjectives ending in an unstressed -el, -en, (see § 187, 1) 
-e r drop the -e before the comp. and superL endings : 
cedel — noble cedlere cedlest. 

fager — fair fagrere fagrest, 

fuldkommen — perfect fuldkomnere fuldkomnest. 

184. The following adjectives form their comparative 
and superlative by adding -re (-ere) and -st and at the 
same time modifying the radical vowel by mutation : 



ung — young 


yngre 


yngst. 


stor — great 


storre 


stbrst. 


tung — heavy 


tyngre 


tyngst. 


or 


tungere 


tu7igest. 


lang — long 


Icengere 


IcBngst. 


and irregularly : 






faa — few 


JCBvre 


fcerrest. 



185. The following adjectives form their comparatives 
and superlatives of a different stem from the positive : 
gmnmel — old celdre celdst. 

god — good hedre iedst. 

lille (liden) — little mindre mindst. 

mange — many Here flest, 

meget — much mere mest. 

ond — bad vcsrre vcerst. 



ETYMOLOGY. 89 

The adjective (and adv.) noer near forms its comparative 
and superlative by adding -m ere, -m est: noermere ncermest. 
In the same manner the adj. fjern far in Danish forms the 
comp. fjmrmer^ but only in the meaning of the off (horse). 

186. The following comparatives and superlatives have 
no corresponding adjectives as positive (but there are corre- 
sponding adverbs) : 

{nede — down) nedre — lower nederst, 

{oven — above) bvre — upper bverst. 

{ude — without) ydre — outer yderst (N. also pr. ytterst). 

{hag — behind) N. bagre — hind bagerst — hindmost. 

{iiide — within indre — inner inderst, 

{midt — middle) midtre midterst. 

{frem — ^forward) fremmere {or fremre) fremmest {or fremst). 

The following adjectives occur only in the comparative : 
nordrenoiiheniy sondre souithern^ dstreea>steYn, vestre western. 

In the superlative alone occur : nicest next, forst first, forrest 
foremost, sidst last, ypperst supreme, mellemst middle. 

187. The following adjectives do not form any compara- 
tive and superlative. To denote the comparative and super- 
lative meaning mere more and mest most are placed before the 
positive : 

1) Most adjectives derived in -sk (-isk) -en and -e t : 
mere kriyersh more warlike, mest morderisk most murderous. 
{Bvitfriskere fresher, raskere quicker, hadskere more rancor- 
ous, glubskere more ferocious, harskere more rancid.) Vaa- 
gen — awake, mere vaagen, mest vaagen. (But modnere more 
mature.) 2) Adjectives ending in -es or -s with preceding 
consonant: mere^ mest of sides, more, most out-of-the way; 
7nere, msst gjcengs, more, most current; also mere fremmed 
most strange. 3) Participles: mere forslaaet more heditexi, et 



90 ETYMOLOGY. 

mere vindende Vmsen a more prepossessing manner. (But a 
few participles which have come to be used completely as adjec- 
tives may form comparative and superlative : Icerdere more iQdiin- 
ned; fuldkomnere more perfect). 

Some adjectives do not form any comparative and super- 
lative on account of their signification; such are evig eternal, 
udbdelig immortal etc. 



INFLECTIOiq^ K^T> USE OF THE COMPAEATIYE 
A:NrD SUPEKLATIVE. 



188- The comparative has only the form ending in -e : 
den bedre Del the better part; et stbrre Hus a larger house. 
When used as a substantive it may take the genitive -s : det 
gode er det hedres Fiende the good [is the enemy of the better. 

Note. Observe the use of the comparative to denote a pretty high 
degree. En celdre Herre an elderly gentleman; et stbrre Forretningshus 
quite a large business house; mindre less is used as a less emphatic ne 
gative than ikke not, or a negative prefix. Det var en mindre smuk Frem- 
gangsmaade that was not a very nice way of doing. 

189. The superlative has as a rule the definite form 
when connected with a noun : Den iedste Mand the best man. 
Det smukkeste Tbi the nicest cloth. But it occurs also in the 
indefinite form: jeg har storst Lyst til ikkeatgjbre det I feel 
most inclined not to do it [but: jeg har den stbrste Lyst {af 
Verden) til ikke at gjore det I have the greatest mind not do 
it]. When used as a predicate the superlative as a rule is in- 
declinable, but may also take the definite article, and accord- 
ingly the definite form. Dette Hus er storst this house is 
largest. Disse Bmr er hedst these berries are the best. But 
also : dette Hus er det storste this house is the largest. 



ETYMOLOGY. 91 

Note. The superlative may be emphasized by aller piaced before 
the superlative: allerbedst best of all; allerstorst largest of all. This aller 
is an old gen. plur. (O. N. allra of allr all). 



The Pronouns. 



I. THE PERSOi^AL PEOiN'OUi^S. 

190- The personal pronouns have a nominative and an 
oblique case, and some of them also have a possessive case. 
The personal pronoun for the 3d person has separate forms for 
masculine and feminine. 





1st 


person. 


2d person. 


3d person. 
Masc. Fem. 


Sing. Nom. 




jeg 


du 


han hun 


Poss. 




— 


— 


bans hendes 


Obi. 




mig 


dig 


ham hende 


Plur. Nom. 




vi 




de 


Poss. 




— (vores) 


eders, (jers) 


deres 


Obi. 




OS 


eder, jer 


dem 



{jeg pron. Dan. jai, jae, Nor. jei; mig^ dig pron. Dan. mai, 
dai, mae, dae, Nor. mei, dei.) 

Note 1. jeg and du have no corresponding possessive forms ; in 
their stead are used the possessive pronouns (see § 192). Instead of 
poss. xiores (vrhich is mostly colloquial Danish) the poss. pron. mr is 
usually employed, while eders is more common than the corresponding 
poss. pron. jer. An antiquated form is hannem for ham him. de they 
is originally a demonstrative pronoun corresponding to the singular 
den, det. Analogously with hannem is formed dennem for dem. 

Note 2. D%i and dig thou, you is only used between members of 
the same family or near relatives {1st or 2d cousins) or between intimate 
friends (schoolmates or people acquainted since childhood, or those who 
have drunk ''dus'), thus entering into a kind of fraternity that places 



92 ETYMOLOGY. 

them upon a footing of intimacy. The act of drinking "dus' is per- 
formed with certain ceremonies. 

Note 3. Colloquially Jian and hun are often used referring to ani- 
mals according to their natural gender, and in N. colloquially or rather 
vulgarly even to things according to thegender (masculine or feminine) 
which the noun in question has in colloquial Norwegian language. 



II. THE REFLEXIVE AKD RECIPEOCAL PRONOUNS. 



19ta. The reflexive pronoun is sig (pronounce D, sai, N. 
sei), which can only be used in dependent functions, corre- 
sponding to a subject of 3d person, when the direct or indirect 
object is the same person or thing as the subject; Ex. han slog 
sig he hurt himself; N. de satte sig paa BcBnkene they sat down 
upon the benches (but D. as a rule de satte dem^ because in 
modern Danish sig is very rarely used referring to a subject of 
plural). 

Sig is never used reflexively to De you : slog De Dem ? 
did you hurt yourself ? 

Observe: liver for sig each for himself, separately. 

19Ib. Eeciprocal pronouns are hinanden and hverandre^ 
one another each other. Hinandeyi should, according to the 
grammarians, be used referring to a subject consisting of two 
parties, hverandre to three or more. Ex. : Han og hun saa hin- 
anden for f'drste Gang he and she saw each other for the first 
time. Allefaldt or)i Halsenj^aa hverandre they all threw them- 
selves upon one another's necks. 

But this rule of the grammarians is rarely observed in the 
spoken language. 



ETYMOLOGY. 93 

III. THE POSSESSIVE proxou:n:s. 



192. The possessive pronouns are : 

Ist person sing. 2d person sing. 3d pers. refl. (sing. & pi ) 
com. neut. com. neut. com. neut. 
Sing, min mit din dit sin sit 

Plur. miiie dine sifie 

1st person plur. 2d person plur. 
Sing, vor vort jer jert 

Plur. vore jere 

In stead ot Jer, jert ^ Jere the gen. of the pers. pronoun eders 
is usually employed. 

193. si7i, sit, sine is only in Norway used referring to a 
subject of plur. In Denmark it is a rule to say : Herrerne tog{e) 
deres Hatte the gentlemen took their hats ; in Norway they 
say : Herrerne tog sine Hatte. 

Sin may refer to another word than the subject in such 
combinations as : Giv hver sit give each one his due. 

When there besides the predicate verb is another verb (infini- 
tive or participle) in the sentence sin may refer to the subject 
of either of these verbal forms, thus causing some ambiguity : 
Hr, Pedersen iad Pigen heiite sin Hat: Mr. P. asked the ser- 
vant girl to fetch his hat. But Hr, Pedersen had sin Ventcende 
sin Cigar Mr. P. asked his friend to light his (whose?) cigar. 
Hanfandt ham liggende i sin Seng he found him lying in his 
bed (whose?). Sin may also refer to the logical subject of a 
noun indicating action : hendes Kamp for sin Kongemagt her 
fight for her royal power. 

194, The possessive pronouns replace the missing genitive 
forms of the personal pronouns and are used in the same mean- 
ings and ways as the genitive of the nouns (see § 164). Observe 



94 ETYMOLOGY. 

the idiomatic expressions : din Dumrian you fool ! dit Fee yon 
ass! etc. 

The possessive pronouns cannot be combined with the 
pre-positive definite article. But in Norwegian they can 
colloquially be combined with nouns that have the postpositive 
definite article, in which case the pronoun is placed behind ; 
Ex. : Veiinen min my friend. 



IV. DEMONSTEATIVE PRON^OUi^S. 



I 95. Demonstrative pronouns are: de7i that, denne this, 
Jiin that, yonder. 

C. G. N. C. G. N. 0. G. N. 

Sing. Nom. den det denne dette hin hint 

Gen. dens dets dennes dettes hi?its hints 

Plur. Nom. de disse hine 

Gen. deres disses hines 

Obi. de7n 
When these pronouns are used adjecti^ely, they are only 
subject to inflection as to numbers ; Ex. : Han valgte de Mcend 
he chose those men; disse Menneskers Oine er forblindede 
the eyes of those people are blinded. Hin that, yonder is 
mostly a literary word ; colloquially it is as a rule replaced by 
den der that there, det is often used where the English 
language requires the adv. so: tror De det? do you think iso. 

Note, det is used without stress like the English it as subj. of im- 
personal verbs, or as an ** indicator" if the real subject is another 
sentence: det regner it rains; det fortcelles, at Kongen er dbd it is said that 
the king is dead ; se efter, hvad det ei\ som staar paa look what it is, that 
is the matter. 



ETYMOLOGY. 95 

196- Among the demonstrative pronouns are as a rule, 
counted the pronominal adjectives slig such; saadan such; 
hegge both; samme same; selv self. Slig has n. sUgty pi. slige^ 
saadan^ n. saadant^ plur. saadanne. All these forms can take 
the gen. -s if the word is used substantively, begge and samme 
can take the genitive -s when used alone, but are otherwise 
indeclinable, selv is indeclinable, except that when used before 
a noun with the postpositive def . article it may add an -e : selve 
Maiideii the man himself. Observe that selv in Dano-lSTorwegian 
is used alone : jeg shot gjbre det selv I shal do it myself. The 
adv. saa may in some cases be used as a pronoun : i saa Til- 
fcelde in such a case, i saa Maade in that respect, i saa Hen- 
seende in that respect. 



Y. IKTERKOGATIVE PR0i^0U:NrS. 



197- Interrogative pronouns are: hvo, livem which, livad 
what, hvilken which. (The initial -h is mute in all these pro- 
nouns, see §§ D. 58, N. 126). Hvo and hveyn refers to per- 
sons and are only used substantively. They have the genitive 
hvis whose ; hvo is becoming obsolete and is chiefly used in 
poetry and elevated style. Hvad when used substantively only 
refers to things; when used as an adjective it may qualify na- 
mes of living beings as well as of things and irrespective of 
gender. Hvilken is used adjectively and has the neuter hvil- 
Tcet pi. hvilke. When the interrogative pronouns are ruled by 
a preposition, the latter can be placed before the pronoun or 
at the end of the sentence. Ex. Hvem er der who is there? 
Hvo vedy hvor ncer 7nig er min Ende'i who knows how near my 
end might be? Hvis Boger er det'i whose books is it? Hvad si- 
ger De what do you say? Hvad Tjeneste kan jeg gjore Dem 



96 ETYMOLOGY. 

what service can I do you? Hvilke Lande er{e) de rigeste? 
what countries are the richest? Hvilken Ejole har hitn paa? 
what dress does she wear? Af hve7n liar Defaaet Bog en? from 
whom did you get the book? or Hvern har Defaaet Boqen af? 
Til hvem har han sagt det? To whom has he told it? or Hvem 
har hail sagt det til? 

Hv ad for en what, neut. hvadfor et^ plur. hvadfor is used 
adjectively. Hvadfor en Maiid er dette? what man is this? 
Hvadfor et Hus er dette? or hvad er dette for et Hus? what 
house is this? Hvadfor Kjor er dette? what cows are these? 
(Obs. the use of the neuter dette in all these queries.) Note: 
^t'i'Z/te^ may be used in exclamations : Hvilken Udsigtl what 
a view ! Hvilken Skjonhed what a beauty. The same meaning 
may in Danish be expressed by : sikken^ contraction for se hvil- 
ken see what a ; Ex. sikken en nydelig Dame what a beautiful 
lady, and in Norwegian by for en: For en Sorg^ what a grief! 
For en Dumrian du er! what a fool you are ! 



VI. RELATIVE PRONOUNS. 



198. Eelative pronouns are: som^ der^ hvilken^ hvem. 
Som and der are used substantively and are not inflected. As 
genitive is used hvis whose. Hvilkeii is used both adjectively 
and substantively and is inflected as the interrogative pronoun 
of the same form. Som is the general relative pronoun, which 
is used when there is no special reason to employ one of the 
others. It must always have the first place in the sentence 
and therefore when it should follow after a preposition this 
latter must be placed adverbially at the end of the sentence. 
der can only be used as subject and is chiefly employed when 
there is another som near by so as to avoid confusion and ca- 



ETYMOLOGY. 97 

cophony ; Ex. : den Mand som var her the man who was here. 
Det saa ud, som om den Mand^ der var lier^ var syg it 
looked as if the man who was here was sick. Det SynspunTct^ 
som Tian saa Sagen fra^ var ikke det rigtige the point of view 
from which he looked at the matter was not the right one. 

hvem only refers to persons and can never be used as sub- 
ject ; Ex. : en Gjcest hvem fyrstelig u^resievisning tilhommer 
a guest to whom princely honor is due. 

hvilken refers to persons and things. The neuter hvilket 
sometines refers not to any single word in the preceding sen- 
tence, but to the whole sentence; Ex. : der llev en skarp Frost 
med haardt Veir^ hvilket Hedningerne tilskrev Gudernes Vrede 
a piercing cold set in with rough weather, something that the 
heathen attributed to the wrath of the gods. With the 
same meaning may be used hvad what, a pronoun that other- 
wise only refers to the word alt all, everything; Ex. : alt^ hvad 
jeg har^ er dit everything I have is yours. 

Note. The relative pronoun may be omitted except as subject; Ex. : 
den eneste Ro, Jian eiede, hlevfunden dod the only cow he owned was found 
dead. In antiquated language and sometimes in poetry the relative may 
be omitted also as subject, but then the verb must be preceded by an- 
other word; Ex.: allesmaa Fugle, i Skomn xar all the little birds that 
were in the wood; den Mand, her staar the man, who stands here. 

199- ^^^5 hvem^ hvadj may sometimes perform functions 
at the same time in the principal and in the subordinate pro- 
position. They are then called indefinite relative pro- 
nouns. After these pronouns may sometimes be added som 
or der^ in which case these indefinite relative pronouns to a 
certain extent act as demonstratives. IIvo som staar ^ se til^ 
at han ikke f alder whoever stands, see that he does not fall. 
Hvem der gjbr det^ skal miste sit Liv whoever does that, shall 
lose his life. Hvad du har gjort^ er tilstrcekkeligt what you 



98 ETYMOLOGY. 

have done, is sufEcient. The indefinite meaning is emphasized 
in: hvemsomlielst soin whoever, livadsomlielst som whatever, 
hvilkensomlielst som whichever. 



YII. IJS^DEFIJS^ITE PRO]SrOU2srS. 



200. Indefinite pronouns are: man^ en^ hver^ enhver^ 
enhversomhelst^ livilkensomhelst^ hvemsomlielst^ livadsomlielst, 

man corresponds to the French o n, German man. Eng- 
lish has no exact equivalent. It can only be used as subject; 
Ex. : man siger they say, it is said. 

en is originally the numeral one ; it has the same meaning as 
man^ but is not in its use limited to being subject of the 
sentence ; Ex. : det gjor en ondt at se saadanne Krmfter gaa 
iilspilde it pains a man to see such abilities wasted. 

hver or enliver each, every; gen. hvers^ enlivers; neut. 
hvert^ ethvertj alle og enliver each and everyone; hver eneste 
every single one; enliver somhelst^ hvemsomlielst everybody; 
hvilhensomlielst^ neut. hvillcetsomlielst^ plur. hvillcesomhelst 
which(so)ever, any; livadsomlielst what(so)ever, anything. 
These pronouns together with the relative som form indefinite 
relative pronouns (see § 199). 

201. Among the indefinite pronouns are as a rule counted 
the indefinite numerals: nogen some one, mangen many a, 
ingen none, alle all, somme some, anden other. 

nogen some one, neut. noget^ gen. nogens^ nogets^ plur. 
nogle^ gen. nogles, nogen also means any ; then it has plur. 
?io^e^ (like singular). Har De nogen Penge? Have you 
any money ? Ja^ jeg har nogle Kroner. Yes, I have a few 



ETYMOLOGY. 99 

crowns. Instead of noget used substantively may be said 
nogenting something, anything. 

Note. Colloquially the plur. is always nogen, in eastern Norway 
pron. noiij nodii. 

mangen many a, neut. mangt ; usually occurring in plur 
mange many, gen. mangens, onangts^ manges. Jeg liar mange 
Penge I have much money. Mangen en many a, neut. mangt 
et. ingen none, neut. intet^ plur. ingen^ gen. ingens^ intets. 
Ingen may be connected with a noun in plur. or in singular; 
plural is used whenever in affirmative case a plural would 
have been expected ; Ex. : der var ingen Mennesher der there 
were no people there; intet Menneshe har set ham nobody has 
seen him. Emphasized ingensomhelst none whatever. Instead 
of intet used substantively may be said ingenting nothing. 

anden other, neut. andet^ plur. andre^ gen. andres etc. 
nogle — andre some — others, en — en anden one — another. 

al all, neut. alt^ plur. alle^ gen, alts^ alles; the common 
gender sing, can not be used as a substantive and accordingly 
cannot take the gen. s; subst. alting everything, altsammen^ 
allesammen all and every one. 

somme some is a somewhat antiquated word ; somme Kjcer- 
ringer ere slige some women are that way. 



THE KUMEKALS. 



202. The following is a list of the numerals: 
Cardinals. • B. Ordinals. 

1 en (een), neut. et (St, D. eet, N. ett) forste 

2 to andet 

3 tre tredie 



100 ETYMOLOGY. 


A. Cardinals. 


B. Ordinals. 


4 fire 


fjerde 


5 fern 


femte 


6 seks {sex) 


sjette 


7 syv 


syvende 


8 otte 


ottende 


9 ni 


niende 


10 i^i 


tiende 


11 elleve 


ellevte 


12 ifoZt; 


tolvte 


13 tretten 


trettende 


14 fjorten 


fjortende 


15 femten 


femtende 


16 N. seksten (sexten), 


sextende 


D. sejsten 




17 sytten 


syttende 


18 a^/e/i 


attende 


19 nitten 


nittende 


20 2^2/^^ 


tyveiide 


21 67i 0^^ 2^2/^^ 


enogtyvende 


22 ^ 0^1' ?fy?;<5 


toogtyvende 


30 tredive, N. also ^re^^i 


tredivte^ N. also trettiende 


35 /(S772 0^ tredive 


feniogtredivte 


40 J), fyrretyvc^ fyrre^ 


D. fyrretyvende^ 


N", ^r^^i, /0r/i, /07^ 


N. firtiendey f&rtiende 


50 D. halvtredsindstyvey lialv- 


D. halvtredsindstyvende^ 


tredSy 'N.femti 


N. femtiende 


60 D. tresindstyve^ tre$^ 


D. tresindstyvende^ 


N. Se/fc5^2) 


N. sekstiende 


70 D. halvfjerdsindstyve^ halv- 


D. halvfjerddndstyvende^ 


fjerds, N. ^y/zfi 


N. syttiende 


80 J), firsindstyve^ firs^ 


D. firsindstyvende^ 


N. 0^^/, o//^^/ 


N. ottiende 



ETYMOLOGY. 101 

A. Cardinals. B. Ordinals. 

90 D. halvfemsi)idstyve^ halv- D. halvfemsindstyvende^ 

fems^ N. niti^ nitti N. niitiende 

100 hundrede 

101 hundrede og e7i, hundrede og f'orste 
neut. Hundrede og et 

129 hundrede og ni og tyve hundrede og ni og tyvende 

1000 tusind{e)^ N. tusend{e) 

The cardinals are all uninflected save en^ neut. et^ which, 
to distinguish it from the indefinite article, is often written 
(D.) een^ (N.) en\ neut. (D.) eet^ (N.) et^ ett. But with the 
definite article always den ene. 

203. The ordinals are used only in the weak or definite 
form, excepting anden second; den anden the second or the 
other (N. colloquially den andre)^ plur. andre others. 

hundred{e) and tusi7id(e) have no corresponding ordinals. 
In arithmetics the cardinals are also used as ordinals, but 
otherwise the use of the ordinals of these words is avoided as 
much as possible. En Hundrededel one hundredth part ; en 
7t^5i7id6fl?eZ one thousandth part. (D.) Jeg siger dig det for 
ni og halvfemsindstyvende Gang; (N.) Jeg siger dig det for 
ni og nittiende Gang I tell you so for the hundredth time. 

204. The cardinals halvtredsindstyve 50 etc. are ex- 
clusively used in Denmark and by the older generation in 
southern Norway. Femti^ seksti etc. are used in most parts 
of Norway by all ages and classes of the people and by the 
younger generation all over the country. The abbreviated 
form halvtreds etc. are only used when the numerals occur 
alone, the full forms are used in connection with a noun. 
For halvtredsindstyve Aar siden fifty years ago. I Aaret femti 
in the year fifty. 



102 ETYMOLOGY. 

Note. The forms tresindstyve etc. are to be explained in the follow- 
ing manner: ire-sinds-tyve^=thTee times twenty, sinds is a form of an old 
noun occurring in define sinde this time, nogensinde anytime etc. For 
explanation of the forms Jialvtredr-sindstyve etc. see § 205. 

205. One and a half is called lialvanden^ 2|- halvtredje^ 
3|- halvfjerde etc. (hence halvtredsindstyve etc. see § 204). 

At 3 o'cl, is: Klokken tre; half past two: Klokken lialv tre; 
Jialv fire^ halv fern etc. Ten minutes past five: ti Minuter 
over f em; ten minutes off three: ti Minuter i tre (or til tre); 
fifteen minutes past six : et Kvarter over seks; it is twenty mi- 
nutes past five : Klokken mangier ti Minuter paa (or i) halv- 
seks ; at 7.40 : tiMmuter over halv otte ; at 9.45 : tre Kvarter til 
ti. It is 9.45 : Klokken mangier et Kvarter paa ti, 

selvanden^ selvtredje etc. with one, two etc. others ; jeg var 
her igaar selvtredje I was here yesterday with two others. 

en Trediedel one third ; en Fjerdedel one fourth etc. ; ni 
Tyvendedele nine twentieth parts. 

Obs. en Procent one percent, pro anno per annum. 

For det f'orste in the first place, for det andet in the second 
place, for det tredje etc. in the third place etc. 

Note, et Sues a score (the unity always used by the sale of eggs) 
en lylvt a dozen (boards etc.) et Dusin a dozen (buttons etc.) et Gros 12 
dozen 



THE VERBS. 



206. The verbs in the Danish and Dano-Norwegian lan- 
guage have separate forms for voices, tenses and to a certain 
extent modes and numbers. 

The forms of the verbs are either simple or compound 
(formed by means of an auxiliary verb). 



ETYMOLOGY. 103 

The verbs are divided into two classes — the weak (also 
called regular) and the strong (or irregular) according to 
the formation of the imperfect and past participle. 

207. The present tense of all verbs is formed alike, 
namely by adding -e r (in a few cases -r ) to the theme of the 
verb (or -r to the infinitive form) ; Ex. : jeg elsk~er I love ; 
han iring-er he brings ; du Ices-er you read ; han tru-er he 
threatens. Present plural is in written language, when 
used, .formed by dropping the final -r of the singular. 

The infinitive is formed by adding -e to the theme of 
the verb : elsh-e^ iring-e^ tru-e. 

Some verbs the root of which ends in a stressed vowel form 
tiieir present by adding only -r and use their root unchanged 
as infinitive; Ex. : staa stand, pres. staar\ gaa go, pres. gaar\ 
at io to reside ; at do to die ; at sy to sew ; at se to see. 

Some verbs have double forms in infinitive, with or with- 
out -e : du or due to be fit ; di or die to suck ; fri or frie^ ie- 
fri or iefrie to liberate; vi or vie to wed, to consecrate ; /orw^/ 
or fornye to renew; all these verbs in Danish form their pre- 
sent in -e r : due7\ dier etc. 

Note: In Norwegian the infinitive of these verbs is with the excep- 
tion of fri and hefri formed in -e. 

-e is written and pronounced in the following verbs : He 
to wait; tie to be silent; griie to dread; kue to cow; true to 
threaten ; skrue to screw ; lue to blaze ; iejae to answer in the 
affirmative. 

The present participle of all verbs is formed by 
adding -ende to the theme of the verb: Ibi-eiide running, 
gaaende walking. 

The passive or medial voic is formed in -e s and 
in a few cases in -s. 



104 ETYMOLOGY. 

A. WEAK YEKBS. 

208- The weak verbs are divided into three classes; those 
belonging to the first class form their imperfect in 
-e d e, their past participle in -et. 



I. PARADIGM 


OE YERBS OF THE IST CLASS. 




elske to love. 


A. Active. 




1) Simple forms. 




Ind. 


Subj. Imp. Inf. Partcpl. 


Pres. : Sing, elsk-er^ 


elsk-e elsky at elsk-e elsk-ende 


Plur. elsk-e 


elsk-er 



Imperf. {jeg etc., vi etc.) 
elske- de 

2) Forms compound with past participle: 
Perfect. : Sing Jiar elsket at have elsket 

Plur. have elsket 
Pluperf. : (sing, and plur.) havde elsket 

3) Forms compound with pres. infinitive: 

Future : Sing, skal or vil elske at skulle or ville elske 

Plur, skulle or ville elske 
Conditional (sing, and plur.) skulde or vilde elske 

4. Doubly compound forms : 
Compound future : 

Sing, skal or vil have elsket at skulle or ville have elsket 
Plur. skulle or ville have elsket 

B. Passive. 

1) Simple forms: 

Ind. Infinitive. 

Present : elskes at elskes 

Imperf. : elskedes Past Partcpl. : elsket 



ETYMOLOGY. 105 

2) Compound forms: 

Ind. Inf. 

Pres. : Sing, iliver elsket at Hive elsket 

Plur. Uive elshede 

3) Doubly compound forms: 

Perfect : Sing, er ileven elsket at vcsre ileven elsket 

or liar vceret elsket or at have vceret elsket 

Plur. ere ilevne elskede or have vceret elskede 
Pluperf . : Sing, var Ileven elsket or havde vceret elsket 

Plur. vare ilevne elskede or havde vceret elskede 
Fut. : Sing, skal or vil Hive elsket at skulle or ville Uive 
or skal elskes elsket or at skulle elskes 

Plur. skulle or ville Uive elskede or skulle elskes 
Conditional : skulde or vilde Uive elsket or skulde elskes 

209. In this manner are inflected almost all d e r i v a t i v e 
verbs ending in a vowel or in a combination of consonants 
with which the ending -t e does not readily agree. 

In poetry verbs ending in a vowel often drop -e before the 
ending -de, and an apostrophe is written in its place, lefri'^de. 
In Norway verbs ending in a vowel colloquially form their 
imperf . in -d d e and this form is now often used also in lite- 
rature, naadde reached ; trodde believed ; etc. in stead of 
naaede, troede. 

In forms such as elskede the final -e is often dropped collo- 
quially and in poetry : elsked^ for elskede. In Norway it 
takes the form elsket, a form that also is commencing to ap- 
pear in the literature. 

Verbs ending in -1 e and -r e with a preceding consonant 
have their imperative of the same form as their infinitive : 
handle! act ; logre^ wag your tail ! But imperative of such 



106 



ETYMOLOGY. 



words is in writing as much as possible avoided and colloqui- 
ally handl! logr! are the common forms. Verbs in -n e with 
preceding consonant form their imperative regularly : vaagn 
op^ wake up ; syyn Tieii! languish. 

210. Verbs belonging to the second class form their 
imperfect by adding -te, past participle by adding 
-t without change of the radical vowel. 
Inf. at rose to praise, pres. roser^ impf . roste^ past parte, rost. 

(The other forms can easily be formed by comparison with 
the paradigm given of the first class). 

In this manner are conjugated a great number of verbs en- 
ding in a single consonant (-b, -d, -g, -I, -r, -n, -s) with a 
preceding long vowel, or in the double consonant -m m or the 
combinations -1 d and -n g ; Ex. : raaie to cry, raabte (but 
liadbe to hope, haaiede) ; koge to cook, kogte (but toge to march 
in procession, togede) ; tomme to empty, tomte (but sv'dmme 
swim, svbmmede coll. svbmte. 

Obs. have to have, pres. Jiar^ pi. have^ impf. Jiavde; do 
to die, impf. dode^ ptcp. dod; ske happen, imp. skete or sJce- 
doy ptcp. sJceet. 

211, Verbs of the third class add in impf, -t e (-d e), 
partcp. -t and at the same time change the radical vowel 
from -36 or -0 in infinitive to resp. -a and -u (-0) in impf. 

Note: This change of vowel is explained by the fact that the infi- 
nitive of these verbs which in the old language ended in -3 a, has the 
form with mutation, while in imperf . there was no reason for mutation, 
so the original radical vowel again appeared there (retro- mutation, G. 
Kiickumlaut, D. Gjenomlyd). 

To this class belong : 

kvmle to stifle, hvalte kvalt, 

Icegge to lay, lagde lagt. 



ETYMOLOGY. 



107 



scette to set, satte saty 

tcelle to count, talte talt. 

rcBJcke"^) to stretch, rakte rakt, 

strcekke^"^) to stretch, strakte strakt, 

tcekke to roof, takte takt, 

vcekke to arouse, vakte vakt. 

• vcenne to accustom, vante vant, 

trcede to tread, to step traadte traadt. 

dblge conceal dulgte dulgt. 

fblge follow fulgte fulqt. 

spbrge ask spurgte spurgt. 

smbre smear smurte sinurt. 
Irregular : 

smlge sell solgte solgt. 

sige say sagde sagt 

iringe bring hragte iragt. 

NoteI: menne, toek'ke, stimskke, vQ3^^e as a rule follow the first 
class: voennede, voennet etc.; this is in N. always the case wi h toekke. 

Note 2: bring e is an original -y German word and has retained its 
German inflexion. The Old Norse form of sige was segja which explains 
the modern imperf . sagde. Of eie to own sometimes in poetry occurs the 
antiqu. imperf. aatte 

Note 3: Present of gjbre is gjbr and of spbrge colloquially and in 
antiquated style spbr, a form that is commencing to be introduced 
again into Norw. literature. 



B. STEONG YERBS. 



212- The strong verbs form their imperfect by changing 
the vowel (gradation, ablaut, Ajiyd) without any termi- 



*) But N. roekke to reach is strong: rak, rukket. 
**) But N. strmkke til to be sufficient: strak, strukket. 



a 


u 


a 


i {e) or 


e 


e{t) 





u (o, y) 





a 



108 ETYMOLOGY. 

nal addition. Past. ptcp. in these verbs regularly has the 
ending -e n for common gender and -e t for neuter, but of 
many verbs only the latter form can be used, and others while 
forming a strong imperf. form their prtcp. according to the 
weak conjugation. The vowel of the participle is sometimes 
that of the present, sometimes that of the imperf. 

The strong verbs are divided into 6 classes depending upon 
the vowels occurring in the different forms (gradation series) : 

1. i (cBy e) 

2. i (e) 

3. i 

4. y 

5. a 

6. No apparent gradation, in historical grammars 

called the reduplicating class. 

213. Class I. 
i (^, e) — a — u, Ex. : dinde to bind, landt^ lunden; 
sprwkke to crack, sprak^ sprukken; finde to find ; rinde to 
run (of running water) ; spinde to spin ; stinke to stink (ptcp. 
stinket); svinde to vanish ; tvijide to twist ; vinde to win ; 
klinge to sound (ptcp. klinget); springe to spring ; svinge to 
swing ; tvinge to force ; synge to sing {sang^ sungen^ poet, and 
ant. sjunge)\ synke to sink (sank^ sunket); slippe to let go; 
Iriste to burst (inf.); drikke to drink (drak^ drukket; druk- 
ken adj. drunk); stikke to stab (poet, and ant. sting e^ stak^ 
stungen) ; Ircekke to break ; N. rcekke to reach ; N". strceTcke til 
to suffice ; trcekke to draw ; fornemme to perceive (ptcpl. for- 
nemmet ov fornummet) ; hjceipe to help; IST. hrcende to burn, 
(intr. Irandt^ ptcp. lrcendt\ D. impf. hr(B7idte); hcenge to h^mg^ 
hang or hcengtej hcengt; N. slcenge to loiter (slanq^ slcengt; but 



*) N. rende, rendte, rendt to run. 



ETYMOLOGY. 109 

D. N. slcenge to fling, sloengte); gjcelde^) to be worth, to refer 
to (gjaldt^ gj(Bldt) ; N. smcelde to make a noise {smaldt or smcel- 
dede, smceldte^ ptc. smceldt)\ slcjcelve to shiver, {sJcjalv or 
skjcelvede, N. sJcalv^ skjcelvet); hnoeltke to crack, 'kncekkede or 
hnak^ kncekket; sprcette to sprawl, imperf. N. sprat^ D. sprmt- 
tede^ sproettet; skvcette to get a start, N. shvat^ skvcettede^ 
skvcettet. 

Note 1. When there is a double set of forms in imperf., a strong 
one and a weak one, the strong form has originally represented the in- 
transitive meaning, the weak form the transitive; Ex.: Jian strdkte sin 
Haand ud he stretched his hand forth ; Pengene strak ikke til the money 
was not sufficient; Huset brandt op the house burned down; jeg hroendte 
mzne /S^z56 I burned my ships; jeg skvat tilside I jumped aside; Pigen 
sJcvcBttede Vand paa mig the girl splashed water on me; jeg hoengte min 
Hat paa Knagen I hung my hat on the rack; Manden Jiang i Galgen the 
man was hanging in the gallows. 

Note 2. Antiquated and poet. Danish are the imperf. plurals: 
funde, runde, svunde, sprunge, stunge, sunge, drukke, hjulpe. 

214. Class IL 

i (e) — a — i (e) or aa. Ex. : give to give, gav^ givet; 
iede to pray, iad^ iedt (bedet). To this class belong: give to 
give; gide to prevail upon one's self to, gad^ gidet; sidde to 
sit, sad, siddetj kvcsde to sing, kvad, kvcedet; voere to be, var, 
vceret; icere to wear, lar, haaren; skjcere to cut, skar, skaa 
ren; stjoele to steal, stjal, stjaalen; se to se, saa, seetj ligge to 
lie, laa, Ugget; cede to eat, aad, oedt. 

Note 1. drf*ebe to kill, although regularly following the weak 
conjugation {droebte, drceht) occurs in N. poetry in the Strang impf. 
drap: han drapfar he killed my father (Bjornson). 

Note 2. To the infinitive mere, to be, corresponds the pres. {]eg) er 
I am (pi. ere), but overvd^re, to be present at, has pres. overvddrer, imp. 
overvar.y and undvsere to be without, u'ndvsQver, undva^rede. 

^) always weak: undgjodde to pay the penalty of, gjengjo'Me to 
requite. 



110 ETYMOLOGY. 

Note 3. Some of these verbs may in Danish form their impf . plu- 
ral in -e: hare, aade etc. 

215. Class III. 

i — e — e (i). 'Ex,:gribe to catch, greb^ grehen; hide to bite, 
hedj Mdt; hvine to shriek, liven or hvinede^ hvinte^ hvinet); 
grine to grin (N". gren^ D. grinede or grinte^ grinet); trine to 
step {tre7i^ trinet); gribe to catch; hnibe to pinch ; jt?iZ>6 to pipe 
(^<95, pehet) ; slihe to grind (sleb^ slebet^ N. pron. slipt; sleben 
adj. polished); blive to become {blev^ bleven)\ drive to drive; 
hive to heave (impf. D. Mvede^ N. Jiev^ hevet); rive to tear; 
shrive to write (all these as blive) ; bide; glide to slide {gled^ gle- 
den^ N. pron. qlidd); lide to wear on {led^ leden) ; /it;?^ to suf- 
fer (fed, Zi(i/); W<^e to ride {red^ redely N". pron. ridd) ; shride 
to proceed {skred^ skredet); slide to wear (sfe^i, ^/irf^) ; smide 
to fling (s7ned^ smidt) ; stride to fight {stred^ stridt) ; ^i^itZe to 
singe (52;6c;?, sveden^ N". pron. svidd); wide to wringe (vred^ 
vreden^ N. pron. vridd) ; ^i^^ (pron. Nor, hjikke) to peep 
(/te^ or kigedey keget or kiget); snige to sneak (^^ze^^, sneget) ; 
5?;i^e to deceive (sw^, svegen) ; 2;2!^6 to yield (i^^^^, veget). 

Note. These verbs may in Danish form their ipf. pi. in-e: -5?^^^, 
^<5^e etc. (but not hede, because that would be liable to be confounded 
with bede plur. pres. of at bede to pray). 

216. Class IV. 

y — b — u {Oj y). Ex. : krybe to crawl, krob, Jcroben; 
bryde to break, brod^ brudt; fyge to drift (prtc. f'oget) ; ryge^) 
to smoke {det ryger it smokes), rog^ rbget; stryge to stroke 
(ptcp. strbgen); klyve to climb (N". imperf. klbv^ D. klyvede^ 
ptc. N". klbvet^ D. klyvet)\ N. 5%z;6 to push {skjbv^ skjbvet); 
flyve to fly (/o^, Jibiet) ; ^2/2^6 to lie (Zoi, Zo^6^) ; byde to bid 



*) Usually intr. ; in transitive meaning is in Norway used roge : at 
rbge Idhak to smoke tobacco (impf. rogte^ ptcp. rbgt). 



ETYMOLOGY. Ill 

(ptc. huden^ ludt)\ Iryde"^) to break; flyde to flow (ptc. 
flydt) ; gyde to pour {gjod or D. god^ gydt) ; lyde to obey (ptc. 
lydt) ; Qiyde to enjoy {iiydt) ; skryde to boast {sJcrydt) ; snyde 
to cheat) — ptc. snydt ; skyde to shoot {skjbdy ptc. skudi) ; 
fortryde to regret {ptc. fortrudt); hetyde to signify (D. Z>e^(>(i 
or ieiydede^ N. ietydde^'^) or Z>6^o<i, ptc. letydet)\ syde to boil 
(generally sydede^ prt. 5^6?ez^) ; //^y5^ to fret (//^05 ovfnyste^ 
ptc. fnysety f'i^yst) ; /^y^^ to be cold (/ro^ — frosset) ; ^j/55 to 
shudder (5;;*05, ^o<§, ^'y^z^e — ^'y^z^) ; ^lyse to sneeze (ptc. nyst). 

Note. The imperfect frbs, fnos, nbs, gjbs do not regularly form 
any plural in — e in Danish, tod is in Danish an antiquated imperf . of 
tude to howl, while in Norway tot is impf. of tyte to ooze out. 

217. Class V. 

a- 0- a. 
iefale to command {befalede or ant. hefol^ iefalet); gale to crow 
[galede or gol^ galet); fare to travel (/or, faret); lade to let 
(lod^ ladet) ; ^ra^6 to dig (gravede or ^ro^', gravet); drags to 
draw (<iro^, dragen); jage to hunt {jagede or Jog, jac/en); tage 
to take (^0^5 tag en). 

Irregular are : 

slaa to strike {slog^ slaaet or slagen); staa to stand (^^o^Z, 
staaet); svcerge to swear (5^or, svoren); le to laugh (?o, Ze^^f); 

Note: 'bejalede is now exclusively used in common speech; so is 
galede; jagede is more common than its corresponding strong form, jage 
is always weak when it indicates to go hunting. Han blev slagen he was 
conquered: han blev slaaet he was struck. 



* Not to be confounded with hryde to trouble, in Danish regularly 
conjugated : impf. brbd — ptc. brydt (or brudt), N. hrydde (or brbd), ptc. 
brydd. That these two words are originally different is seen from the 
fact that bryde to trouble in Norway is pronounced bry^ while bryde to 
break is pronounced bryte. 

■^*) Always betydede when signifying: gave to understand. 



112 ETYMOLOGY. 

An antiquated inf. and present for staa and staar is siande, stander; 
imperative stat, plur. stander, parte, standet. 

Antiquated is vov for vcevede of vceve to weave ; also vog 
imfpf . of veie in the meaning : to kill ; in the meaning : to 
weigh, in which it is now exclusively used in common speech 
veie has impf . veiede. 

218. Class VI. 

Apparently no gradation in the different tenses. The 
following verbs belong to this class : 

lohe to run, Ibi Ibhet. 

sove to sleep, sov sovet. 

groede^) to weep, g^^oed grcedt, 

D. hedde (N. hede) to be called, lied (D. also hedte)^ hedt, 
liugge to cut, N. hug (D. commonly liuggede)^ hugget. 

komme to come, kom kommen. 

falde to fall, faldt falden^'^'^) faldto 

holde to \io\6.^ lioldt holdt.\) 

To this class are also counted : 

faa to get, fik Jaaet (N, pron. /a?f.) 

gaa to go, gik gaaet (JST. pron. gkt.) 

Wholly irregular is : tie to be silent, taug (N. tiede^ pron. 
tidde^) ptcp. tiet, 

Note: None of these verbs form an impf. plural in -e. 

219. When there are two sets of verbs, one strong and 
one weak, the former originally was intransitive the latter 
transitive. But this difference, to a great extent, has been wi- 
ped out, both forms now being largely used promiscuously; 



'^)N. also graate. ^^)f olden usually refers to a moral downfall ;/a^ 
denfra Himlen (himmelfalden) fallen from the skies, struck with amaze 
ment. \)7iolden is an adj. well-to-do. 



ETYMOLOGY. 



113 



see remarks to licengte and liang^ Ircendte and brandt 
(213 Note 1) It is very common in Norway to say: jeq 
liar lagt i min Seng I have laid in my bed, (ptcp. of Icegge to 
lay) instead of: jeg liar ligget i min Seng I have been lying in 
my bed, (ptcp. of ligge to lie) ; in the same manner : jeg liar 
mc sat her en Time I have now set here an hour (ptc. of scette 
to set) instead of : jeg liar nu siddet her en Time I have now 
been sitting here for an hour. But in the following pairs of 
verbs the distinction is complete : syringe — sprcenge to spring 
and to burst, falde—fmlde to fall and to fell ; synke^ soenhe 
to sink (intr. and trans.) 



IRREGULAR VERS. 



220. The following verbs have an irregular inflection. 



Pres. 


Imperf. 


Partcp. 


Inf. 


Sing. Plur. 








han can kunne 


kunde 


kunnet 


at kunne 


skal shall skulle 


skulde 


skullet 


at skulle 


bor ought to bor 


burde 


burdet 


at burde 


tor dare tor 


turde 


turdet 


at turde 


maa must maa 


maatte 


maattet 


at maatte 


(subj. maatte) 








vil will ville ' 


vilde 


villet 


at ville 


ved know vide 


vidste 


vidst 


at vide 



These verbs are in historical grammars generally called 
preteritopresents, because the forms now used as their pre- 
sent tenses are original imperfects. Hence the change of 
vowel between pres. sing, and plural {yed — vide^ skal — skulle). 



114 ETYMOLOGY. 

To this class also belongs the antiquated imperf . aatte ptc. aatt 
owned corresponding to the present inf. eie^ regular impf. and 
ptc. eiede^ eietj also mon and 7no7ine used in antiquated style 
promiscuously as pres. or imperf. periphrastically with infi- 
nitives like English doth and did. 



THE USE or THE NUMBERS. 



'121. In colloquial language there is no distinction be- 
tween singular and plural, the singular form being used with 
plural as well as with singular subjects. In written language 
the plural form in the present tense is still retained by most 
Danish authors and according to official Danish rules of 
spelling, while most Norwegian authors and the official Nor- 
wegian rules of spelling have dropped the distinction between 
singular and plural. In the imperf. of the weak verbs there 
can be no distinction. In the imperf. of the strong verbs the 
rule is about the same as in the present, although the plural 
form of some verbs is avoided even by Danish authors as stated 
in §§ 216 note, 218 note. As a general rule it can be said 
that the imperf. plural is not formed whenever it would have 
the same form as the present plural. In poetry plural or sin- 
gular forms are used promiscuously with a subject in the plu- 
ral according tothe necessities of prosody. Ex. : Kvinder selv 
stod op og strede (Bj0rnson) even women arose and fought 
(arose to fight). 



THE USE OF THE TE]SrSES. 



222. The present tense is often employed with future 
meaning, Ex. : J eg reiser imorgen I shall depart to-morrow ; 



ETYMOLOGY. 115 

naar jeg ser liam^ skal jeg hilse ham fra dig when I see 
him I shall bring him your greeting. 

The present tense may also be employed to signify the past. 
Igaar medeiis jeg qaar paa Gaden ser jeg pludselig en Mand 
komme lobende imod mig yesterday while walking in the street 
I suddenly see a man coming running towards me. 

223. The imperfect is used in conditional sentences 
referring to the present as in English ; Ex. hvis jeg vidste 
hans NavUy saa vilde jeg fortcelle dig det if I knew his 
name I should tell it to you. In the same manner the plu- 
perfect is used in conditional sentences referring to the 
past: om jeg havde set ham^ skuldejeg noh ikhe have ladet ham 
lobe if I had seen him I should certainly not have let him skip. 

224. In the future tense skal and vil as a rule have retain- 
ed some of their original signification of duty and necessity 
or will and desire and they are used accordingly. There is no 
distinction as to the use in the different persons as in English. 
Skal is used in promises: jeg skal sikkert have Kloederne 
fcerdig i rette Tid I shall surely have the suit ready in time. 
For the use of skal and vil in the passive voice see §233. 

The compound future more commonly takes the form oifaar 
elsket {faar with past ptc. ) instead of skal have elsket. Ex. naar 
jeg faar gjort det^ skal jeg lade Dem det vide when I shall 
have done it (or when I get it done) I shall give you word. 

In Norwegian /aa with infinitive is used to express neces- 
sity : jeg faar nok gjore det^ enten jeg vil eller ikke I guess I 
shall have to do it whether I want to or not, (cfr. Engl. I've 
got to do it. ) 

225. Some intransitive verbs indicating a change form 
their perfect by means of vmre instead of have^ when it is in- 
tended to express only that something has taken place with- 



116 ETYMOLOGY. 

out emphasizing the notion of action. Han er gaaet he is 
gone. Min Fader er reist for en Time siden my father left 
(has left) an hour ago; Blomsten var visnet^ for jeg fik den 
the flower had faded before I got it. But : jeg har gaaet fern 
Mil idag I have walked five miles to-day. Min Yen har reist 
fern Gange over Atlanterhavet my friend has crossed the At- 
lantic five times. 



THE USE OF THE MODES. 



226. The subjunctive which only occurs in the present 
tense and has the same form as the infinitive is used in an op- 
tative or concessive meaning: Leve Foedrelandet ! Long live 
our native land ! det koste livad det vil i. e. at all hazards. 

227. The infinitive is as a rule used together with the 
particle at to. Jeg bnsker at tale med Dem I wish to speak 
to you. The infinitive is used without at after the so called 
modal auxiliaries iurde^ gide^ kunne^ maatte^ monne^ skulle^ 
turde^ villej Ex. jeg tor paastaa, at han er en stor Slyngel I dare 
assert that he is a great scoundrel. Du hor gjbre det you 
ought to do it. If bbr (in antiquated style) is used imperson- 
ally in the meaning of "behoves to," then the following in- 
finitive takes at : eder lor at give efter it behoves you to yield. 
The infinitive is also after some verbs used without at when 
it is a predicate to the object of the sentence, the same as in 
English: jeg kan hbre Hjertet lanke I can hear the heart 
beat. Han lod de andre faa et langt Forspring (N. For- 
sprang)he allowed the others to get a good lead. After other 
verbs the infinitive with at is used : jeg fandt ham at vcere en 
hrav Mand I found him to be an honest man (more common: 



ETYMOLOGY. 117 

jeg fanclt^ at haii var etc.) Jeg bad ham komme^ at komme 
or om at komme I asked him to come. 

After lade to let, in the meaning of ''to have" with a 
participle, ''to cause to be done," the Dano-Norwegian lan- 
guage uses infinitive with an object of its own, placed before 
the infinitive : jeg Jod Huset iygge I had the house built ; 
Generalen lod Forrcederen skyde the general ordered the traitor 
to be shot. 

228. The infinitive is used after prepositions, where in 
English the gerund is employed — the Dano-Norwegian Ian- 
gauge having no gerund ; any preposition may govern the in- 
finitive; Ex. De gjorde ret i at sige det til ham you did right 
in telling it to him; jeg er kommen hid for at tale med Bern I 
came here to speak to you; jeg reiste til Markedet for at kjobe 
en Hest I went to the fair to buy a horse ; efter at have sagt 
Farvel gik han sin Vei (after) having bidden farewell he went 
away ; det gaar langsomt med at faa samlet Pengene there is 
tardy progress in collecting the money; for at tjene Penge of- 
rede han sit gode Navn og Rygte in order to make money he 
sacrificed his good name and reputation. 

229. The present participle cannot be used periphrastically 
with the verb at vcere^ to be, as in English. I was just 
thinking about what to do must be rendered : 
jeg tcenkte netop paa^ hvad der var at gjore, " The widow 
was mending the clothes of her youngest son," must be ren- 
dered : Enken holdt paa at gjore island sin yngste Sons Klce- 
der. Note the use of the participle in the following senten- 
ces : han horn loiende he came running ; han ilev staaende he 
remained standing or : he came to a stand still. A second 
verb connected with such a participle by og^ and, is not put 
in participial form but in the infinitive : han Ilev staaende 



118 ETYMOLOGY. 

midt paa Gulvet og glo he remained standing in the middle of 
the floor, staring. 

Colloquially and vulgarly a present participle in-s is some- 
times formed without any passive signification. Han komgaa- 
endes he came walking. Or with signification of what is to be 
done (cfr. lat. gerundive), Kong en er ventendes the king is 
to be expected. Sometimes, especially in advertisements, the 
active participle is used with signification of passive: mit 
ihoende Hits the house I live in ; et iyggende Skih a ship that 
is being built (cfr. the Engl, expression: efforts are making.) 

Note. Expressions like the following : ' ' Having made the 
necessary preparations Mr. Jones at once started on his voyage" can 
not in Dano-Norwegian be rendered by means of a participle : efter at 
havefuldendt sine Forheredelser tiltraadte han straks sin Heise. 

230. The past participle in compound tenses formed by 
means of the auxiliary have is indeclinable; the past participle 
in compound tenses formed by means of the auxiliary vcere 
follows the gender and number of the subject in so far as it is 
susceptible to the corresponding inflection : Han er gaaet he 
is gone ; de er {e) gaaede they are gone ; jeg erkommen I have 
come ; vi er{e) konme we have come ; jeg er ileven (colloqui- 
ally N. Hit) meget syg I have grown very ill ; vi er{e) ilevne 
forvistefra vort Foedr eland we have been expelled from our 
native country (colloquially in Norway : vi er hlit (or Met) for- 
vist, ) 

The past participle is often used as an adjective and may 
in that capacity also be employed as a substantive ; the par- 
ticiple of intransitive verbs may then have an active signifi- 
cation : en hortreist Mand a man who has departed ; et for- 
tabt Faar a lost sheep. * 



ETYMOLOGY. 119 



THE PASSIVE VOICE. 



231. As is seen from the paradigm § 208 the passive may 
be formed through all its tenses by means of the auxiliary 
Uive\ but in the present, imperfect and infinitive (according- 
ly also in the future) there also occurs another form ending 
in — es. 

Note 1. The passive m-es is a formation peculiar to the Scandi- 
navian group of the Teutonic languages. It was originally a medial 
or reflexive formation, the terminal s being derived from original-^A; 
(representing the reflexive pronoun 0. N. sik.) This original reflexive 
signification is retained in many words; adngstessengste sig to be alarm- 
ed; harmes, vredes to get angry ; undres-undre sig to wonder, etc. 

Note 2. The form in -s is sometimes used in a reciprocal signi- 
fication : vi sees igjen we are going to see each other {i. e. to meet) again; 
modes to meet ; trsdffes to meet ; slaas to fight ; kappes to vie with each 
other; kives to qudiYrel; strides to dispute; nxbhes to bill; mundhugges 
to quarrel ; enes to agree, etc. 

Sometimes the verb is used this way in connection with a preposi- 
tion where the pronoun contained in the reflexive verb must be taken to 
be governed by the preposition ; Ex. at tales ved to speak with each 
other (in Norway they still say dialectically tale ved en, generally tale 
med en) ; the preposition is used adverbially in skilles ad to separate, 
folges ad to go to-gether ; hjselpes ad to assist each other. 

232. Some verbs which only occur in passive form and 
some others, that have both an active and a passive form, but 
with an entirely different meaning, are called deponent 
verbs ; Ex. lykkes to succeed ; blues to be ashamed; Icenges 
to long ; celdes to grow old ; mindes to remember (but minde 
to rQm.\ndi),findes to exist {hutfinde to find), gives to exist (G. 
es giebt' from give to give). These deponent verbs, and to this 



120 ETYMOLOGY. 

class are also counted many of the above mentioned recipro- 
cal verbs, form a deponent participle; Ex. det liar lykkedes 
(also lyklcets^ lyMes) mig I have succeeded in—-; jeg har Iceng- 
tes I have been longing. But this form is not very much in 
use and is generally avoided, whenever possible. 

233. The two passive forms may in some instances be used 
promiscuously. But the form \vl-s is much more common 
than the other one, especially in the present tense and the in- 
finitive (after the verbs skal^ mda^ ior etc.) The imperfect 
of the compound form occurs much more frequently than the 
present. 

The compound form [blive rost to be praised) signifies the 
complete passivity, where all action on the part of the subject 
is wholly excluded, hence it is used to denote the single re- 
corded fact, while the form m-s is used to denote a common 
condition or general rule. 

The imperfect m-s is not used of strong verbs with radical 
vowel a in imperf. followed by two or more consonants: (not 
sa7iges but) ilev sungen was sung; (not tvanges bub) Uev 
ivungen was forced; (not drakkes but) Uev driikket was 
drunk ; (not stjales but) Uev stjaalen was stolen ; note : fand- 
tes existed, but Uev funden was found; gaves existed, but 
Uev given was given. 

In the future passive the form jeg vil roses cannot be 
used except to denote: I wish to be praised. The simple 
future is either :ye^ skal roses or jeg skal or vil Uive rost;l&x. 
vilde hurt inviteres ? did she wish to be invited (E. Brandes : 
En Politiker.) The reason is that the verb vil and the ending 
in-s both imply so much activity, that they combined cannot 
possibly convey a passive meaning. 



ETYMOLOGY 121 



REFLEXIVE Al^B IMPERSONAL VERBS. 



234. Reflexive verbs are those that always have as 
their object a pronoun denoting the same person as the sub- 
ject; Ex. at skamme $ig to feel ashamed; jeg shammer mig I 
feel ashamed, lian shammer sig^ vi shamme{r) os, I shamme[r) 
eder^ de shamme{r) sig. 

Transitive verbs may be used reflexively; Ex. at slaa sig 
to hurt one's self (at slaa to beat); at vise sig to appear {at 
vise to show). 

Note. At hs^nde, at hsdnde sig, at hadndes all indicate : to happen ; 
da ha^ndte det, at — , da hsdndtes det, at — , da Tiddndte det sig, at — then it 
happened that. 

235. Impersonal verbs are those that have only the 
demonstrative pronoun neut. det as subject; Ex, det regner it 
rains ; det sner it snows, etc. ; det dages it dawns ; det vaares 
spring comes; or there may be a definite subject of the 3d 
person; Ex. Forsbget mislyhhedes the attempt was unsuccess- 
full. En TJlyhhe hcendte a misfortune happened (only the 
active hcende can be used in this manner, not Jicendes or Jicende 
sig.) 

Any passive form may be used impersonally ; intransitive 
verbs cannot be used in passive, except impersonally. Such 
intransitive verbs used impersonally do not take the subject 
det^ but in its stead the demonstrative adverb der is used ; 
Ex. der reises meget i Norge i Sommer there is much travel 
going on in Norway this summer. In poetry der may be 
omitted : nu tales jo lydt om^ at Folhet er vaht now they talk 
so much about the people being aroused. 



122 ETYMOLOGY. 



THE ADVERBS. 



236. The neuter form of most adjectives can be used as 
an adverb : snart soon ; lioit high or highly ; smiiht nicely ; 
godt well etc. 

Note. Of adjectives ending in -ig, -lig in Norway the common 
gender form is used as adverbs but in Denmark the neuter: D. oprigtigt, 
K. oprigtig candidly ; D. d^rligt, N. ddvlig honestly (in both cases pro- 
nounced oprigti, serli). 

Adverbs may furthermore be formed of adjectives (and 
partly of nouns) by the following endings : 

1. — lig : snarlig soon; nylig recently; storlig greatly (of 
nouns: diehlikhelig instantly; liovedsaqelig chiefly; fcengslig 
only in connection with the verb anliolde : fcBugslig anholde 
to arrest, derived from, fcengsel prison). 

2. — vis^Jieldigvis]idi,^^\\j\ lyJckeligvis hapipilj; tydelig- 
vis plainly (of nouns delvis partly ; ^j^^jr-y/s in pairs ; skevis by 
one spoonful). 

3. — e: hare only; ilde ill; vide ^idiQly \ gjerne willingly; 
D. grumme highly. 

Note. To the adjective god good correspond the adverbs godt 
and oel. Sometimes both may be used promiscuously : jeg md det godt 
and jeg ved det ml I know it well. In other cases one of them alone can 
be employed : lev ml live well (^. e. good bye) ; sov godt sleep well (but sov 
ml og dro7n heliageligt sleep well and have agreeable dreams) ; vel is also 
used by adjectives and adverbs in the meaning of rather : det er ml 
meget af dtt gode it is rather much of a good thing (not quite as strong 
as : det er for meget). 



ETYMOLOGY. 123 

237. Adverbs which have the same form as the neuter (or 
in Norwegian in some cases the common) gender of the ad- 
jectives are susceptible of comparison : 

siiart soon snarere snarest 

hoit highly lioiere hbiest (or hoist) 

Ex. jeg sidder hbiest oppe i Trceet I am highest up in the 
tree; jeg er hoist ulykkelig I am most unhappy. 

Also some ending in — e : 

loenge long (time) Icengere or Icenger IcBugst 
(also: langt Icengere or Icenger loengst) 

ofte often far oftere oftest 

The following adverbs have a different stem in compara- 
tive and superlative from that of the positive ; 

vel well iedre bedst 

tide badly vosrre vcerst 

gjerne willingly hellere or heller rather heist 
Jeg vil heller danse end synge I will rather dance than 

than sing (but it is rather a large house — det er et temmelig 
stort Hus.) 

'J38. The adverbs are generally by grammarians divided 
according to their use in the sentence into demonstrative, re- 
lative, interrogative and indefinite, or according to their signi- 
fication into adverbs of time, place, mode, degree etc. We 
shall here only mention some peculiarities in the formation 
and use of some adverbs : 

iort away (to a place) iorte away (in a place) 

derhen thither derhenne there 

hvorhen whither hvorhenne where 

J rem forth fremme in front 

ind in (to a place) inde in (in a place). 



124 ETYMOLOGY. 

}ije7n home lijemme at home 

ned down (to a place) nede down (in a place) 

op np (to a place) oppe np (in a place) 

t^^ out (to a place) tide out (in a place) 

siden since /or Za^z^' Tid siden long ago 

saaledes ] ,, hvorledes ) , 

^ ^ thus 7 7 Y how. 

saadan ) fivordan ) 

saadaii and hvordan may also be used as adjectives; saaledes 
and livorledes only as adverbs. 

The affirmative adverb y^j^ is used in answer to a positive 
query, jo to a negative, ^ar ^r. Persen vceret her idag ? Ja, 
lias Mr. P. been here to-day ? Yes. Har ikke Hi\ Persen 
vceret her idag? Has not Mr. P. been here to-day ? Jo Yes. 

Note. The more the better is in D.-N. jo mere desto (or des) hedre; 
jo mere vigik, desto Is^ngere syntes vi at va^re hortefra 'cort Maal the more 
we walked along the farther we seemed to be from our destination ; col- 
loquially there may also be said jo mere jo hedre in the same meaning. 

239. About the demonstrative local adverb der and the 
interrog.-rel. local adv. hvor can be noticed that they are 
used in many compounds without any local signification re- 
presenting the dem. pronoun neuter del and the relative- 
interr. hvilket; derpaa thereupon ; derefter thereafter ; der for 
therefore ; hvorefter after which ; hvorfor why. 



THE PREPOSITIOi^S. 



240. The prepositions do not in the language as it is to- 
day govern any case, except that in the pronouns which have 
separate forms for the subjective and objective case, the latter 
always follows the preposition : hos mig with me ; til ham to 



ETYMOLOGY. 125 

him; der er intet ondt i ham there is nothing bad about him; 
i Huset in the house; jt?^a Gaden in the street. 

Note. In some phrases the ancient cases have been retained as 
governed by prepositions ; the nouns either end in -e or -s, the latter 
being the genitive singular, the former representing an original genitive 
plural (in the ancient language ending in -a) or dative singular (in the 
ancient language ending in -i) ; in some cases the preposition and the noun 
governed by it are written together in one word, so as to show that the 
whole expression now is considered as an adverb ; Ex. : ili^nde (dat 
sing ) at hand ; Hive alive ; Hide in due, good time, igjsere in progress ; 
isiiide in mind ; {gaa en) tilhaande to assist somebody (literally go 
him to the hands ; gen. pi.) ; tillands on shore ; tilsos (N. tilsjQs) at sea ; 
tilvands Sit sea; tilskihs on a ship; tilbords at table (but ^^77^e5^ on horse- 
back); have en tilbedste to make fun of one ; have noget tilgode to have 
something coming due ; til Ihinge at the court session. 

241. In relative sentences introduced by som the preposi- 
tion comes at the end of the sentence; Ex. min Ven^ som j eg 
ihke paa Icenge Jiar Tibrt fra^ er d'dd my friend, from whom I 
have not had any news for a long time, has died ; sometimes 
a preposition may be used adverbially at the end of the sen- 
tence : en Hai med et sort Baand omhring a hat with a black 
ribbon around it; Karl liar faaet en stor Tavle at shrive 
paa Charles has got a big slate to write on; nu har han faaet 
sig en Vogn, han lean kjbre rundt i now he has got a carriage 
in which to ride around. 

1:4:2. As to the distinction between i in and paa on may 
be noticed that paa is always used in connection with the 
name of islands and in Norway with the names of certain 
(especially minor) towns ; Ex. paa Sjcelland in Zealand ; paa 
Bornholm in B. ; paa Island in Iceland (but i England^ i 
Irland); paa Moss at Moss; paa Kongsierg at K. ; paa Fre- 
drikshald at F. ; (but i Fredriksstad^ i Kristiania^ i Dram- 
men^ i Skien^ i Bergen^ i Stavanger^ i Trondhjem). The 



126 ETYMOLOGY. 

use varies also with the names of different districts ; paa 
Hedemarken in H. ; i Osterdalen in 0. 

Af of ; fra from : En af os one of our number ; en Mand 
fra By en a man from the city; Jolmsen er fra Aarhus J. is 
from A. ; Jeg reiste fra Kristiania til Bergen I went from 
Chr. to B. A rich merchant of Copenhagen (is 
in D.-N.) en rig Kj'obmand i Kohenhavn^ but a r. m. of 
this city en rig Ejoimand her af Byen ; Hekla af Kjbienhavn 
H. of Copenhagen. 

Note. The following prepositional phrases are used as preposi- 
tions : istedenfor {2^.^o v^iitteB. i Steden for, i Stedetfor) instead of; paa 
Grund af on account of ; i Anledning af on the occasion of; i Rrap af 
in virtue of ; ved Hjmlp a/ by means of. 



COitJUKCTIOKS. 



243. The conjunctions are divided into co-ordinating and 
sub-ordinating ; both these classes are again divided accord- 
ing to their signification into several subdivisions. 

The grammarians mostly enumerate the conjunctions be- 
longing to the several classes, but we shall here only mention 
those of special importance or about the use of which there is 
anything to remark. 

A. Co-ordinating : 

og and ; haade — og both —and ; in the same meaning : saa vel — 
som as well — as: jeg saa r el som du or saavel jeg som du I as 
well as you; dels — dels partly — partly; snart — stiart now — 
now; han er snart hold^ (og) snart varm now he feels cold, 
now warm; eller or; enten — eller either — or; hverken — eller 
neither — nor ; thi for ; meji but. 



ETYMOLOGY. 127 

B. Subordinating : 
da when, as ; indicates both time and cause ; da han kom^ var 
jeg allerede gaaet when he came I was already gone ; da han liar 
forbrudt sig^ maa han straffes as he has offended, he must 
be punished; siden since (temp, and g^lusb].) ; forsaavidt (som) 
in so far as; hvis^ dersom^ om if; hvis ikke^ medmindre if not, 
unless; skjonty endskjb7it^ omejidskjojit although, admit some- 
thing actually existing; om end, selv om though, even if, 
admit something supposed; at that: jeg ved at De har voeret 
her I know that you have been here ; at may also be omitted : 
jeg ved De har vceret her I know you have been here ; for at 
in order that. Ex. : Kjbbmanden sendte sin Son til Udlan- 
det, forat han skiilde Icere Sprog the merchant sent his son 
abroad in order that he should learn languages (also forat 
Icere Sprog to study languages, see §228 ;) jeg Icegger op Penge, 
forat jeg kan nyde en »orgfri Alder dom I lay money by in or- 
der to be able to enjoy a comfortable old age (or for at kunne 
nyde en sorgfri Alder dom) ; jeg gav ham en Krone, forat han 
skulde give den til Tiggeren I gave him a Grown to give to the 
beggar. The infinitive construction is regularly employed 
when the infinitive and the predicate verb have the same sub- 
ject, and often when the subject of the infinitive is the object 
of the predicate verb; in other cases /oraiJ must be used with a 
sentence. (Obs. for with an infinitive at written separately: 
for at, while the conjunction is written as one word : forat) ; 
forat ikke (or after a verb signifying fear forat) lest ; Ex. 
Borgerne hrcendte Byen, forat den ikke skulde falde i Fien- 
dens Hoender the citizens burned the town, lest it should fall 
into the hands of the enemies ; Borgerne var iange for, at 
Byen skulde falde i Fiendernes Hcender the citizens were 
afraid, lest the town should fall into the hands of the enemies ; 
saa at so as to ; Ex. mine Reisefceller har forladt mig, saa at (or 



128 ETYMOLOGY. 

only : saa) jeg er nu ganske alene my traveling companions have 
left me, so I am now perfectly alone ; Stedet er saa bde^ at det er 
formeligt uhyggeligt the place is so desolate that it is (or : as 
to be) dismal ; end than ; han er stbrre end jeg he is larger than 
I (colloquially is said : Tian er stbrre end mig he is larger than 
me — but only: Hr, Per sen liar et stbrre Hus end jeg Mr. P. 
has a larger house than I) ; dette er noget ganske andet^ end 
hvad vi saa igaar this is something quite different from what 
we saw yesterday. 



I]SrTERJECTIO]:R"S. 



244. The interjections proper are natural sounds, hardly 
to be counted among the forms of articulate speech, conse- 
quently they are beyond the domain of grammar. We shall 
here only mention that the D.-N. equivalents of h al 1 o o hallo ^ 
halloi^ hei are not used as a salute ; as regards interjectional 
phrases may be mentioned that the equivalents of h ow d o 
y o u d o hvorledes har De dety Jivorledes siaar det til med 
Dem are only used when it is really intended to ask about 
somebody's health. Asa simple greeting is employed: god 
Dag good day ! {god Morgen^ god Aften^ good morning, good 
evening, and when leaving god Nat good night). Om Forla- 
delse! beg your pardon! undskyld! excuse me; tbr jeg spbrge ? 
if I may ask ? Tah ! thanks, thank you. Mange Tah^ Tu- 
sind Tah many thanks, a thousand thanks! ingen Aarsag ! 
don't mention it, not at all ; vcersgo ! (i. e. veer saa god^ in 
which form it is written) if you please, please (when fetching 
or offering somebody something) ; veer saa venlig (N. veer saa 
snil) at gjore det for mig please do it for me; strax paa Oie- 
hliJcJcet at once, right away. 



ETYMOLOGY. 129 

The English Sir in yes, sir; no, sir is not trans- 
lated unless when speaking to a superior or a person of rank 
in which case the title is added : ja^ Hr. Kaptain (N. Kap- 
tein) yes. Captain ; 7ie^, Hr, General no, General. But m a'm, 
madam, is translated Frue (Mrs.) or Frbken (Miss) accord- 
ing to circumstances: Nei^ Frbken^ det tror jeg ikke no 
ma'm, I don't think so; JSfei^ Frue^ det liar jeg aldrig sagt 
no, ma'm ; that I have never said. 



THE ORDER OF THE WORDS IN^ THE SENTE:N^CE. 



245. In a sentence consisting only of subject and predi- 
cate the former is placed before the latter ; Manden Tcommer 
the man comes; if the position is inverted, then the sentence 
assumes an interrogative meaning : Kommer Manden ? does 
the man come? If the predicate has an object the order of 
the words is as follows: subj.— pred. — obj. ; Hesten bar Ryt- 
teren the horse carried the rider. The indirect object is 
placed before the direct object: Fader gav Johan Bogen 
father gave John the book; in interrogative sentences only 
the position of subj. and predicate is inverted: Gav Fader 
Johan Bogen ? did father give J. the book. An adjective as 
attribute is placed before the noun ; en stor Hund^ den store 
Hund a big dog, the big dog ; so also a genitive before the 
noun governing it : Mandens ^^5 the man's house; Oiceros 
Taler the speeches of Cicero. An adverb determining an ad- 
jective or other adverb is placed before the word which it de- 
termines, but an adverb determining a verb is placed after it : 
en meget smuk Mand a very handsome man ; J^arl gik meget 
Jiurtigt Charles walked ve]y fast. 



130 ETYMOLOGY. 

Note. The personal pronouns and the demonstrative plural de 
having retained their objective form {mig, dig, etc.) may in dependent 
function exchange position with the subject without causing ambiguity: 
Ham saa jeg him I saw ; hende gav jeg mine hedste lanker to her I gave my 
best thoughts. When it is desired to emphasize any certain part of the 
sentence it may be given the first place in the sentence ; in that case the 
subject always follows after the predicate : Johan gavJianeii Bog og Marie 
en nydelig Duklce he gave Johnny a book, but Mary a beautiful doll. 

246. Interrogative and relative words (pronouns, adverbs 
and particles) and all conjunctions always take the first place. 
In interrogative sentences the predicate always precedes the 
subject, if the latter is not itself the interrogative word : hvad 
har du der ? What have you got there ? if the predicate is a 
compound form of the verb the subject is placed immediately 
after the auxiliary: hvor har du vceret? Where have you 
been. 

In relative sentences the subject follows immediately after 
the relative word, if this latter is not itself subject: det Hus^ 
som du har kjoM er meget daarligt the house, which you 
have bought is very poor. Overall^ hvor han har vceret^ har 
han gjort sig forhadt wherever he has been he has made him- 
self disliked. 

After conjunctions the words as a rule follow in the ordi- 
nary succession: naar jeg kommer til By en skaljeg kjbhe mig 
nye Kloeder when I go to town I shall buy myself a new suit 
of clothes. 

Note 1. The inverted position of interrogative sentences is some- 
times used in conditional propositions when the conjunction is omitted: 
kommer jeg til By en, skaljeg liilse din Moderfra dig ovlivis jeg kommer til 
Byen, skal etc. if I come to town I shall bring your mother your greet- 
ings. 

Note 2. Antiquated and chiefly used in official and commercial 
correspondence is the custom of inverting the subject and predicate 
after ogsmd; Ex. denne Feiltagelse var meget uheldig, og formener Depar- 
tementet, at den hurde have va^retundgaaet this error was very unpleasant 
and the Department believes that it ought to have been avoided. 



ETYMOLOGY. 131 

247. As to punctuation the D. N. language follows 
about the same rules as the English, excepting that comma 
is always used between the principal and the subordinate pro- 
position. Comma is also used before independent proposi- 
tions introduced by og and, and before single words connected 
by men but. Before complete sentences introduced by men 
but, semicolon is used. Sig mig^ hvad du liar gjort! Tell 
me what you have done! Den Ri7ig^ somjeg liavde paa Fin- 
ger en ^ er kommet lort the ring I had on the finger has been 
lost. Min Soster Jortalte^ at hendes Bog^ som hun liavde lagt 
fra sig paa Bordet for en Time siden^var forsvunden^ da liun 
Jcom tiliage til Vcerehet : My sister told me that her book 
which she had left on the tableau hour ago had disappeared, 
when £he returned to the room. 



132 EXERCISES. 



exe:rcises. 



at vmre to be 

Jeg^ du^ {Be), han er I am etc. 

vi, /, de er{e) we are etc. 
(see § 221). 

Jeg, du, [De), han var I was etc, 

vi, /, de var{e) we were etc. 
at have to have. 

Jeg, de, (De), han har I have etc. 

vi, /, de have we have etc. 

Jeg, die, (De), han havde I had etc. 

vi, /, de havde I had etc. 
Eat cat ; Horn (n. ) horn ; Rcev fox ; 

Hus (n.) house ; Maane moon ; Hale tail ; 

Hest horse; Ko cow; stor big; 

Ncese nose; ^aar (n.) hair; ' Mand man; 

Bonde farmer ; long lang Mark field. 

(§§ 150 — 155) Katten har Naese, og {and) Maanen har 
Horn, og Kaeven har Haar paa {o7i) Halen. Katten har en 
lang Hale. Koen har Horn, men {bnt) Hesten har ikke 
{7iot). Bonden har en Hest og en Ko. Den lange Naese, som 



EXERCISES. 133 

{which) Manden har, forskj0nner {beautifies) ham {him)ikke. 
Maanen skinnede {shone) paa det store Hns. I Huset var der 
en Kat med {with) lang Hale . 

The horse and the cow were in the house, but the man was in the 
field. He was loo«iing at {saa paa) the moon. The man has a long 
nose, but no {ikke noget) hair on his (use def. art.) head {Hoved, pron. 
hode). The house is large. The mooi shines on the large house and 
on the field, on the horse, on the cow and on the cat. 

(§ 161.) I Arken var ikke et Ark Papir {paper) at faa 
{to ie had). Men der var en Buk, som gjorde {made) et dybt 
{low) Buk for Noa, da {when) ban {he) med eit {his) Folge 
forlod {left) Arken. Fyren havde f andet {found) eig et 
Leie i Fyret, men han betalte {paid) ingen {no) Leie. Bar- 
net {child) har en Vaerge, men Soldaten {soldier) har et 
Vaerge. 

This (denne) draught is a special (eiendommeligt) feature of this 
{dette) house. The fellow had the choice ( Valget) between {mellem) the 
rice and the rod. A soldier without {uden) weapon is a miserable 
{elendig) fellow. The father {fader) is [the] guardian of {for) his child. 

(§ 163.) Form the possessive of the following words, 
with and without the article : 

Slot (n.) castle. Tag (n.) roof. Farve color. 

Bog book. Hjoerte heart. Ven friend. 

Bind (n«) cover. Fiende enemy. 

Et Tags, Tagets. En Farves, Farvens . Bogens . Mit 
{my) Hjaertes, Hjaertets. En Yens, Vennens. Min {my) 
Vens Bog har et rodt {red) Bind. Bogens Bind er rodt. Bin- 
dets Farve er r0d. Den rede Farve er Hjaertets Farve. Far- 
ven paa ( NB . ) Bogens Bind er red. Vaer {he) din {your) 
Vens Ven. 



134 EXERCISES. 

The roof of the castle. The color of the roof of the castle is red. 
Be not the friend of your enemy's friend. My friend's enemy is my 
(min) enemy. 

(§ 168.) Form the plural of the following words with and 
without the article . 

Have garden. Lamps lamp. Stue parlor. 

Kirke church. Skuffe drawer. Vcerelse room. 

Muffe muff. By city. So (N. Sjo) sea. 

Mark field. Skaal bowl. Son son. 

Ven. Blomst flower. 

Min Vens S0nner er(e) min S0ns Venner. Min Ven har 
ingen (710) Fiender. Mit Hus har to {two) Stuer og fire 
(four) smaa {small) Vaerelser. Paa Markerne rundt {around) 
Byen er der mange {many) Blomster. Brooklyn har mange 
Kirker. Kirkernes Tal {number) er stort {large). 

The friends of my son are sons of my friend. The enemies of my 
(mine) friends are not my friends. My house has two (to) gardens. In 
(^) the gardens are {er der) many flowers. 

(§ 169.) Form the plural of the following words : 
Dor door Sten stone Kiiiv knife. 

Dag day Dal valley Elv river. 

Fjeld mountain Boek brook Fjord. 

Kat cat Snedker joiner Amerikaner American. 

Skomager shoemaker Skrcedder tailor. 

Dette Vaerelse har to D0re. I Norge er der mange Baek- 
ke, fulde {full) af 0rret {trout). Elve og Baekke, Fjorde og 
Sj0er, Fjelde og Dale er Norge fuldt {full) af. Mine Br0dre 
har mange Venner, og mine S0stre har mange Veninder. 
Faedre og S0nner. 



EXERCISES. 135 

These (disse) mountains and valleys with {med) their (D. deres, N. 
sine) rivers and brooks are rather (temmelig) monotonous {ensformige). 
Shoemakers and tailors are useful {nyttige) mernbers (Medlemmer) of 
society (Samfundei). 

(§§ 170 — 171). Decline the following neuter words: 
Flag flag; Be7i bone, leg; pi. also feet; Aar year; Dcek 
deck. Vceddelob horse race. 

Udstillingsbygningen {the exposition building) var deko. 
reret {decorated) med alle Nationers Flag. Mine Ben er(e) 
0mme {sore)s Mine Foraeldre og S0skende have (N. har) 
mange Penge, men jeg har ingen. Min Vens Klaeder er(e) 
a f K 1 ae d e {broadcloth); men mine er(e) af Vadmel {rus- 
set). For mange Aar siden {for siden ago) havde jeg ogsaa 
mange Penge. Denne Mand er seks {six) Fod h0i {tall). 

The ship has two decks. The distance {Af stand) between (mellem) 
the decks is eight (otte) feet. Have you money, then you have {saa har 
du) food {Mad) and clothes. 

(§§ 172 — 177.) Decline the following adjectives : 
stor big ; smuk nice ; tarn tame, domesticated ; kostbar ex- 
pensive ; billig cheap ; ejigelsk English ; fransk French ; 
^Za^ smooth; om tender, sore; Z>ar5/fe severe, stern; haard 
hard; varm warm; sund healthy; vanskelig difficult; 
nmpel simple; kjolig cool; lydig obedient. — 

folges ad go together. 

Hesten, Hunden, Koen og Katten er tamme Dyr 
{animals). Smukke Klaeder er(e) i Regelen {as a rule) kost- 
bare; det billige {what is cheap) er sjelden {seldom) smukt. 
Et barskt Vaesen {manner) og et 0mt Hjerte f0lges ofte 
{often) ad, og det gJ0r ogsaa {and so do) et glat Ansigt og et 
haard t Hjerte. 



136 EXERCISES 

The big city has maoy nice and expensive houses. A tame lion 
(Love) is like {■'^om) a big cat Cheap and healthy residences (Boliger) 
are diificult to get (skaffe) in a big city. Tne cool night is very refresh- 
ing (forfriskende) after (efter) the warm day, A nice child {BarUy n.) 
ought always to ijyurde altid) be obedient. 

(§§ 178 — 182). Decline the following adjectives : 
sagte soft; Uaa^ tro^ fri^ 

egen^ megen^ afsides^ nymodens. 

Den frie Mand og den frie Kvinde {woman) blev prokla- 
meret {tvere proclaimed) for alle Vinde (winds), Min egen 
Stue. Kongens eget Slot. Det ham (him) egne Vaesen. 

New-fangled ideas. Out-of the-way towns. This man's eyes 
((!>ine) are blue. A nice suit (Scet) of clothes made (syet) of blue 
cloth. 

(§§ 183 — 189). Compare the following adjectives : 
kold cold ; sod sweet ; Hod soft ; 

venlig friendly ; from pious ; ung ; 

ond ; gammel, 

Min Broder er yngre end jeg, men jeg har et venligere 
Vaesen. Det storste Hus er ikke altid {always) det smuk- 
keste. De aeldste B0rn er(e) de vaerste. Det nederste Trin 
{step) var ganske glat {slippery), Hr, Jensen er laerdere end 
Hr. Kristensen. Verdens {in the world) st0rste Mand er ikke 
netop {exactly) den, som {who) veier {weighs) mest. Den 
yngste af de to Brodre er den smukkeste. 

My father has the largest house in the block ( Kvartalet) It has 
more windows ( Fm^i^^r) than {end) the other houses. The younger 
girl iPige) is the handsomer. [N.B. Use the superlative inD 
N. in this case ! ] ^ 

(§§ 190 — 194). Har du min Bog? Nei, men jeg saa 
{saw) den {it) nu nylig {just now), Hvor {where) var den? 



EXERCISES. 137 

Den var paa Bordet i mit Vaerelse. Jeg har ikke lagt ( placed) 
den der {there). Nei, din Moder lagde {placed), den der. 
Saa du hende gJ0re {do) det {it)\ Nei, men hun har selv 
(§196) fortalt {told) mig det. Min Broder fortalte {told) mig 
ogsaa {also)^ at {that) han havde seet {seen) den der. Den 
Den unge Mand har nylig mistet {lost) his S0n. 

I have a nice little horse; have you seen it ? My father gave (gav) 
jt 'o me, and I thanked {takkede) him. Does (kan) your brother ride ? 
No, he does not ride ; but my sister does. She rides better 
than I do myself (§ 196). Once {engang) she lost (mistede) (§ 245 note) 
her hat while riding horseback {mens hun oar ude og red). My parents 
{Forcsldre) have lost five {fern) of their [N B. different in Danish and 
in Norwegian] children. 

(§§195 — 198.) Hvem er denne Mand med den lange 
Naese? Det er en Landstryger (^rcjw;?), som saelger {sells) 
Bliktoi {tinware). Undertiden {sometimes) stj^ler {steals) 
han lidt fra saadanne Folk {people) y som ikke holder {keep) 
deres (D., sineN.) D0re lukkede {closed). Hvor sover {sleeps) 
han ? Hvem giver {gives) ham Mad {food) ? Hvem faar 
{get) h^n Penge af? Han sover paa Marken, han spiser 
hvad han kan faa, og Penge har han ikke. 

Who has got {hai') my book? Which book do you mean (mener) ? 
By {af) whom is the book? Whose book is it? Mine, of course {natur- 
ligvis). It is the book, that I placed on this table an hour ago. 

(§§ 200, 201). Man siger {say), at nogen har vasret 
{been) her og ringet {rung the bell). Men da {as) ingen luk- 
kede op {opened the door), gik {went aivay) de. Det kan ikke 
have vaeret nogen af vore Venner. Nei, det var nogle frem- 
mede {strange) Mennesker {people). Mangen Mand gaar 
{goes) hungrig {hungry) tilsengs {to bed), som man ikke vilde 
{would) tro {believe) det om {about). 



138 EXERCISES. 

They think that everybody can do this thing, but they are mistaken 
{tagefeil). Nobody can learn {loere) a foreign {fremmed) language (Sprog 
n.) without persistent (ilicerdig) work {Arbeide n.). Some called (kaldte) 
him a hero {Belt), others a humbug {Hamhugmager) . Many a heart is 
aching (hlbder). 

(§§ 202 — 205). Der er trehnndrede og fern og seksti 
Dage i et Aar. Et Minut har seksti Sekunder (tresindtyve 
Sekunder). Min S0ster er tolv Aar gammel. Tolv Gange 
tolv er hundrede og fire og fyrretyve {or: firti). For tyve 
Aar siden var jeg halvandet Aar gammel. En Centimeter er 
to Femtedels Tomme (mch). Han har sine Penge staaende 
(standing) paa (at) seks Procents Rente. 

Some months {Maaneder) have 30 days and others have 31. One 
month, February, has only 28 days. The war (Krigen) lasted {'oarede) 
seven years. Seven times seven is 49. 2') years asjo this big town was 
nothing but {ikke andet end) a little village {Landshy) My friend rises 
{staar op) at 6 ia the morning (o7n Morgenen) and goes to bed (gaar til 
sengs) at 10 in the evening {om Aftenen). 

(§ 208). Conjugate the following verbs: 
Me to wait, hoppe to jump, plants to plant, 

onske to wish, ofre to sacrifice, spend, salve to anoint, 

raade to advise, vente to wait, hakke to peck. 

Jeg har na {now) ventet paa ham i en halv Time {hour), 
men nu kan jeg ikke bie laenger. Jeg vil raade Dem til at 
vente en Stund {tvhile) til (more), Nei, jeg har allerede 
{already) ofret for {too) megen Tid (time) paa ham. Jeg 
skulde have ventet en Stund til, hvis jeg ikke havde havt 
det saa travlt {bee?i so busy). Se den lille Spurv {sparrow), 
som hopper udenfor Vinduet {window) og hakker i Vin 
dueskarmen {wiiidow frame) . Den venter paa at faa {to get) 
sin Frokost {breakfast) . 



EXERCISES. 139 

Whom do you wish to see {at tale med) ? I wish to see your father? 
Please (^aer saa god at) wait a while, he is not in {hjemme) just now {netop 
i Qiehlilcket) I can o ly (bare) wait 5 minutes, Cannot you spend any 
more time on him, he will be in {kommer tilhage) at 5 sharp {paa Slaget 
fern). What do you advise me to do ? 

(§§ 210 — 211). Conjugate the following verbs: 

taie to lose, sluge to devour, lede to seek, 

tale to speak, ietale to pay, laane to borrow, to lend, 

lose to loosen, soette to set, smttesig to sit down (§234), 

fblge to follow. 

Fienderne tabte det f0rste Slag {battle). Paa Slagmarken 
(battlefield) var mange Folk (people) ^ som ledte efter deres 
(JST. sine) Venner. Min Ven talte ikke til mig hele Aftenen. 
Det var, fordi (because) jeg bar laant ham Penge, som ban ikke 
kan betale tilbage (back), Han bavde sat sig, dog (yet) stod 
ban op (got up) og fulgte mig til Doren. 

He spoke s-owly (langsomt), as if (som om) he did not wish his 
audience (lilhorere) to lose a single {eneste) syllable (Stavelse). An honest 
(cerlig) man pays back with interest {Rente) what he borrows Sit down 
and wait a little while, then I shall follow you to church {Kirke), 

(§§ 213 and 214.) Skibet begyndte (commenced) at synke 
ti Minuter efter Sammenst0det (collision), Alle Passagererne 
(passengers) sprang til Baadene (boats) ^ som var(e) bundne 
saa fast, at man maatte bugge dem i0s (loose), Matroserne 
(sailors) bavde drukket adskilligt (considerably) og vilde ikke 
slippe Passagerne ned i Baadene f0rst. Tiggeren (tramp) 
bad f0rst om Penge, men da de ingen gav bim, kom (came) 
ban igjen (again) om Aftenen og stjal, bvad de ikke vilde 
(would) give bam . Han bavde seet Pengene ligge i en aaben 
Komodeskuffe (bureau drawer). 



140 EXERCISES. 

I found a dog, tied to the fence (GjcBrde); it ran to- wards {imod)me 
as far (langt) as the chain (Ldenke) would allow (tillade) it [to] It ^vas 
very thirsty {tbrst), it had not drunk water ( Yand) the whole day. I 
helped it to get out {komme ud af) the chain and gave it something to 
eat. While (medens) I was sitting (§ 229) by the roadside, I saw a man 
cutting {skjddre, use inf.) grass in the field. Another man was helping 
nim. 

(§§ 215—217). Da Musen (mouse) krob frem {forth) af 
af sit Hul (hole)^ greb Katten den og vilde aede den. Men 
f0rst vilde den lege (play) lidt men den. Den slap den, lige- 
som (as) om (if) den vilde lade (allow) den ]0be (rmi)^ men 
saa (then) greb den den igjen og bed den ihjael (to death). 
Det ryger fra Skorstenen (chimney) y mens jeg r0ger min Ci- 
gar og nyder den. Medens du jagede Harer (hares) og skj0d 
Raeve, jog (chased) jeg Fienden ud af Landet. Fienderne 
blev(e) slagne i tre Slag (hattles)^ og mange af dem blev(e) 
tagne tilfangne (made prisoners). 

I only {kun) obeyed [see § 245 in fine] your order {Befaling) when I 
chased the pigs {Svinene) out (ud) of the garden (Have) They had dug 
themselves an entrance ( Vet) under the fence. They took the same 
way back again, and they pushed (sk;o^ til) each others in their 
efforts (translate i. th. e.: idet de anstraengte sig for) to get (komme) 
fOrst ud. 

(§§218—220). Naar (when) kom din Broder? Han 
kom for nogle Dage eiden ; nu skal ban netop (jnst) gaa ud. 
Han gav mig en Velociped (bicycle) ^ og Kristian fik et ud. 
maerket (excellent) Gevaer (gun). Jeg laa og sov, da min 
Broder kom, men stod (got) straks (at once) op, da jeg h0rte 
det ringe paa Klokken (the bell). Jeg kan ikke gJ0re, hvad 
du beder mig om. Jo du bkal og maa gJ0re det. T0r De 
ikke gaa forbi Kirkegaarden (cemetery) om Natten ? Jo, jeg 
er ikke bange (afraid) for Sp0gelser ( ghosts). 



EXERCISES. 141 

I know I ought to do it, but I dare not do it now. Yes, you must 
do it What is your name, my friend ? John is my Christian name 
{Fornavn) and Johnson is my family name {Efteriiavii), Did you sleep 
well last night (mat), Mr. Johnson? Yes, thank you. I slept very 
well and did not get up (get up : staa op) till (/or) it {Rlokken) was 
after {over) 8. Did you really {virkelig) stay in bed {ligge) as long as 
that. Yes, I have often stayed in bed longer than {end) that. 

(§§ 234 to 235). Jeg skammer mig over at se, hTor {how) 
Met jeg virkelig ved . Det haender undertiden, {sometimes)^ 
at man ikke ved, hvad man skal gJ0re. Det siges, at Kongen 
kommer (§ 222) hid (here) i Sommer {this summer), Det er 
blevet mig fortalt (/ have been told^)^ at ti Skibe forliste {were 
lost) i den frygtelige Orkan {hurricane)^ som blaeste {ileto) 
ifredags {last Friday), 

I was told that I could come whenever I wanted to {saa ofte jeg havde 
Lyst). Don't you feel ashamed that you did not know this ? IS"o, I 
do not feel ashamed. You ought to do {gj^re det), at least {i det 
mindste). How did this thing happen ? 

(§§ 237—237.) Hr. Jones har bes0gt {visited) os oftere i 
den senere Tid {of late) ^ end ban gjordiQ i0v {formerly), Ja, 
og han har vaeret laenger hver Gang. Hvor laenge er det, 
siden du saa ham sidst {the last time) ? Jeg saa ham for en 
Time siden. Vil De heist danse eller synge ? Jeg vil gjerne 
begge Dele {do loth), Hvor reiser De hen? Jeg reiser til 
Norge og taenker, jeg bliver to Maaneder borte (taenker, jeg 
bliver borte — expect to he gone), Har De ikke seet mine 
Handsker {gloves)'^ Jo, jeg har. 



*) What is in the active the indirect object should not in D.-N. be 
made subject in passive. Some authors follow the English rule 
in that respect, but it is not considered good language. 



1 42 EXERCISES. 

How long do you expect to be gone ? Four months. I would 
like to stay {blive der) longer, because (Jordi) it is so long since I 
was there the last time. Why do you like better to dance than to sing? 
Because there is more fun (Moro) in it. Have you i^een your father's 
hat? Yes, I have. Have not you seen your father's hat? Yes, I 
have 

(§§ 240—242). Hvem har han li0rt {heard) det af ? Af 
mig kan han ikke have h0rt det. Paa Island er der ingen 
Kj0reveie {carriage roads) ^ saa der maa man overalt reise til- 
hest; men i Irland er der gode Veie. Min Broder Karl har 
vasret tils0S i 25 Aar, saa det er nu paatide {about time), at 
han slaar sig ned {settles) tillands. Paa Grund af den taette 
{thick) Taage {fog)j kunde vort Skib ikke komme ind til 
Bryggen {pier). 

Where do you come from ? From Iceland. Have you been a 
long time in Iceland ? Yes, I have been there quite (temmelig) long, 
and everywhere we had to travel around on horseback, because they 
had no roads there. By {7ned) which ship did you come from Ameiica? 
By the *' Island " of Copenhagen. Have you been in any of ihe cities 
of Norway ? Yes, I have been in Christiania and Bergen, and at 
Kongsberg and Fredriksstad. 

(§ 243). '' Dine Penge eller dit Liv" {life) er et haardt 
Valg {choice) ; men vaerre er det at miste baade Pengene og 
Livet. I Byens XJdkant {outskirts) bor der mange fattige 
{poor), som hverken har Mad eller Klaeder. Naar {when) du 
ikke yil h0re, maa du f0le {7nust le made to feel). Jeg maa 
straffe {punish) dig, forat du kan blive en brav {good) 
Mand. Min S0ster har en smukkere Hat en du. Jeg har 
ingen bedre Ven end dig. Han er saa glad {happy), at han 
nsesten ikke {hardly) kan lade vaere at (1. v. a. — aistainfrom) 
hoppe {jump) h0it op i Veiret {air). 



* EXERCISES^ 143 

I give you this punishment (Straf) in order to improve (forbedre) 
your morals (Solder). I make (lade?') you study in order that you may 
be a useful {nyttigt) member {Medlem) of society {Samfundet). When 
{naar) I come here, I wish ionsker) to see eveiybody happy. When 
{da*) I came home I saw many sad {hedrovedt) faces (Ansigtei'). Neither 
my mother, nor my s'ster had such a nice hat as you had. A judgment 
{Dom) must either be right (rigtig) or wrong (gal), and it cannot be 
bo h right and wrong at the same time. 

* 

(§§ 245 -246). Hvem har De talt med (seen) ? Jeg har 
talt med Deres Broder. Er det min aoldste Broder, De har 
talt med ? Hvor er min Hat ? Deres Hat er her. Han gav 
en Tigger (beggar) sin nye Hat. Hvem gav han sin gamle 
Frak (coat), Traeffer (meet) jeg dig her igjen, skal jeg lade 
(have) dig kaste (throw) ud af Vinduet. 

Whom did you see? Where did you get (faa) that hat? I got it 
at the hatter's (hos Hattemageren), and I gave my old hat to a beggar. 
If I ever {nogensinde) see you again, I shall certainly (visselig) be most 
isoBrdeles) happy. 



*) " When" referring to a single occurrence of the past is da, when re- 
ferring to the future is naar. Da, besides time, indicates cause, 
naar, besides time, indicates condition. 



24 GERMAN'. 

Lessings Minna von Barnhelm. 

Based upon the text of Boxberger, in Joseph Kurschner's ** Deutsche National- 
Literature." By SvLVESThR Primer, Prof, of Mod. Lang, in the University of 
Texas. 240 pages. Cloth. Price by mail, 70 cts. Introduction price, 60 cts. 

LESSING may be said to have created the modern German stage, 
and his ''Minna" is not only the first real German comedy 
but also the very best that the German literature has produced. 

This edition contains: (i) Introduction. (2) {a) Biographical 
Sketch ; (^) The development of the German drama and Lessing's 
influence upon it ; (^) The position and influence of this work in 
German comedy ; (^) Synopsis of the characters and their develop- 
ment in the play. (3) Text, followed by Notes and a Bibliography. 

The Critic, New York: It is the best- 
provided text of this famous German 
comedy that we have. It is a monument 
in succinct form of patient research, help- 
ful historical annotations^ and practical 
insight into the needs of students. 

{Sept. 27, 1890.) 

Literarisches CentralblattjZ^z^- 
^r/^; Ref. wiisste keine Ausgabe der 
" Minna" anzugeben, die so erschopfend 
und dabei so anregend ware wie diese. 

{July 26, 1890.) 



Prof. H. C. G. Brandt, Hamilton 
College y in " Modern Lajignage Notes " ; 
Though edited again and again at home 
and abroad, it has never been so well 
edited before. {June, 1890.) 

Prof. Waller Deering, Vander- 
bilt Univ. : Throughout the whole book 
Prof. Primer shows a fine appreciation of 
the student's needs. A perusal of the 
book leaves an impression of well-rounded 
completeness and scholarly thoroughness, 
which is indeed refreshing. 



Lessings Nathan Der JVeise. 

Edited, with introduction and analytical and critical notes and a Bibliography by 
Sylvester Primer, Professor of Teutonic Languages, University of Texas. 
Cloth. 338 pages. Introduction price, ^1.00. By mail, ^i.io. 

IF we except Goethe's Faiist, no German poem has received so much 
special study as IVathan der Weise. It occupies the most promi- 
nent place in German Literature, after Faust ^ and is the most magnifi- 
cent monument of Lessing's poetic genius. It deserves a place in the 
study of German, not only as a work of art, but also for the deep 
philosophical and scientific truths which it discusses. 

The Introduction discusses amply the religious and philosophic 
back-ground of the drama, and gives a synopsis of the charactars with 
their development in the play. The Notes aim to leave no real diffi- 
culty unexplained, and in the light of the best scholarship of to-day to 
interpret faithfully the thought of the author. 



GERMAN, 



25 



Schiller'^ s IVilhelm Tell. 

Edited, with Introduction and Notes, by R. W. Deering, Ph.D., Professoi 
of Germanic Languages, Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. Cloth. 
280 pages. Introduction price, 60 cents. Mailing price, 70 cents. 

THE present edition not only provides the play with adequate notes, 
which explain the linguistic difficulties and the historical and 
legendary allusions in the text, but also aims to increase the students 
appreciation of the master's great work by enlisting his interest in the 
leading literary questions connected with it. The Introduction has 
thus included a critical analysis of the play, a concise account of the 
development of the Tell Legend and its relation to the real history of 
the Swiss struggle for liberty. A short Bibliography, including the 
best reference books, is added. This edition has a map. 



James O. Griflan, Asst. Prof, of 
Germa7i^ Leland Stanford Univ. : I 
am especially pleased with it, Cind find 
the introduction and notes most satis- 
factory. We shall use this edition in our 
classes. 

A. R. Hohlfeld, Prof of German, 
Va7iderbilt Univ. : An excellent edition. 
The work of a thorough scholar and suc- 
cessful teacher. I shall introduce it. 

'Wilhelm Bernhardt, Director of 
German in the High Schools, Washing- 
ton^ D.C. : At last a worthy American 
edition. I shall use it v/ith my classes. 

J. T. Hatfield, Prof of Gerynan, 
Northwester 71 Univ. : I am greatly grati- 
fied to find it so satisfactory. I introduce 
it at once. 

Milton S. Churchill, Prof of 
Mod. La?igs., Illinois Coll.,facksonville: 
I consider it a very excellent edition ; in 
many particulars much superior to other 
school editions. We shall undoubtedly 
use it next year. 

Ed"win F. Norton, Prof of Mod. 
Langs., Olivet Coll., Mich.: I am de- 
hghted with it. It suits me better than 
any other edition of this beautiful master- 
piece. I shall introduce it. 



Starr W. Cutting, Asst. Prof of 
German, Univ. of Chicago : It is an 
excellent bit of editorial and typographical 
work, and will find a place in our next 
year's programme of courses. 

Thomas Logie, Prof, of Mod. 
Langs., Rutgers Coll. : By far the best 
edition yet published. 

Ottilie Herholz, Prof, of German^ 
Vassar Coll. : I like it very much, and 
shall recommend it in our catalogue. 

Dr. Theo. Neumann, Inst, of Mod. 
Langs., Riverview Acad. Potighkeepsie, 
N. Y. : I have looked forward to this 
edition and was sure it would be a fine 
one ; now I must say that it is beyond my 
expectations, not only because of its 
elegant exterior, its beautiful print and the 
convenient arrangement of the whole, but 
by far more because of its careful and 
well chosen notes and the welcome intro- 
duction, which I have read with great 
delight. 

F. A. Dauer, Prof, of Mod. Langs., 
Geneva Nor. School, Ohio : It will be 
permanently used here. The introduction 
shows most careful research and scholar- 
ship, and the notes are prepared with 
closest attention to the needs of the 
pupils. 



26 



GERMAN. 



Schiller^s Maria Stuart. 

Edited, with Introduction and Notes, by Lewis A. Rhoades, Ph.D., Cornell Uni- 
versity. Cloth. 254 pages. Introduction price, 60 cts. Mailing price, 70 ct>, 

THIS edition has been prepared with constant attention to the latest 
and best literary work in German on this great tragedy, and with 
a constant regard for the wants of students in school as well as college. 
The introduction contains a scholarly account of the genesis of the 
drama, and Schiller's historical sources, a critical discussion of the 
drama, the characters, the language and the meter. The notes explain 
fully all historical allusions, discuss grammatical peculiarities, and trans- 
late expressions which might not be made clear by an intelligent use 
of a German dictionary. 



Scheffers Ekkehard. 



Abbreviated and edited with English notes by Carla Wenckebach, Professor 
of the German Language and Literature, Wellesley College. Cloth. 241 pages. 
70 cents. 

THIS is one of the very greatest works in German fiction ; a wonder- 
fully vivid picture of life in the middle ages, full of interest, with 
many touches of humor, strong characterizations and attractive narra- 
tive. In order to bring it within suitable limits for use as a text-book, 
large omissions have been necessary, but this has been done so as to 
leave the narrative intact. 



A. R. Hohlfield, Prof, of German, 
Vanderbilt Univ. : I am delighted with 
it. In this form it will be possible to use 
this masterpiece of German fiction for 
class' work. The work seems to have 
been very skillfully done. I shall use it in 
our course. 

C. "W. Cabeen, Prof of German, 
Oberlin Coll.: You have done American 
students of German a service in present- 
ing this excellent edition. I shall take 
great pleasure in ordering it for class use. 

J. T. Hatfield, Prof of German, 
Northwestern Univ. : I am more than 
pleased with it. It is an admirable con- 
tribution to the study of German. I 
expect to introduce it next year. 



H. H. Boyesen, Prof of German, 
Columbia Coll. : I have examined it with 
pleasure. It is a very entertaining and 
serviceable text-book. 

B. W. Wells, Prof, of Mod. Langs., 
Univ. of the South : The editor has pre- 
served with great skill the spirit of the 
whole. I am convinced that the impres- 
sion left on the mind of the students will be 
essentially the same as if the unabridged 
novel had been read; and this, consider- 
ing the place Ekkehard occupies in Ger- 
man historical fiction, should suffice to 
commend it to all. I shall introduce the 
book immediately. 

E. R. Rugg-les, Prof, of German^ 
Dartmouth College, : I have put it on the 
list of books to be used. 



GERMAN. 



^7 



Schiller s Jungfrau von Orleans, 



Edited, with an Introduction and Notes, by Benj. W. Wells, Ph.D. 
pages. Cloth. Mailing price, 70 cents. Introduction price, 60 cents. 



24S 



THIS edition has grown out of the needs of the editor's class 
room. Die Jungfrau is, on the whole, in his opinion, the best 
book with which to begin the study of the German classics. 

The language is in general simple and clear, and offers few diffi*^ 
culties to students in their third or even theli second term. But the 
drama has not hitherto been provided with a body of notes adequate to 
enable the student to enter fully into the spirit of the period and of the 
characters. 

The Introduction contains an account of the genesis of the drama^ 
its production on the stage, the MSS. and early editions, the metrical 
structure, and the historical sources, together with Schiller's addi- 
tions and alterations. The notes are mainly grammatical and histor- 
ical. At the end is an appendix on the Regimen of Verbs and the 
Subjunctive Mood as they appear in the drama. Also a map. 



H. S. White, Prof . of German, Cor- 
nell Univ.: The commentary contains 
much that is valuable. 

H. H. Boyesen, Prof of German 
Lang, and Lit., Columbia Coll., N. Y. : 
It is a very creditable piece of work, the 
text being remarkably free from errors and 
the notes furnishing all supplementary in- 
formation with commendable accuracy and 
conciseness. 

E. R. Rug'g'les, Prof of Mod. Langs., 
Chandler Scientific Department, Dart- 
mouth Coll.: The Introduction and Bio- 
graphical notices seem to me admirable 
and ought to be helpful and stimulating 
alike to instructor and student. 

Geo. O. Curme, Prof of Mod. 
Langs., Cornell ■ Coll., la.: Am very 
much pleased with Die Jungfrau von Or- 
leans and will use it next year and per- 



manently establish it in our course. The 
edition is the best with which I am 
acquainted. 

Thos. Li. Angell, Prof of German, 
Bates Coll., Lewiston, Me.: Your " Jung- 
frau von Orleans " introduced by me this 
year is an excellent work. 

Carl F. Kolbe, A. M., Prof of Mod. 
Langs., Buchtel Coll., Ohio: For seven- 
teen years I have read the Jungfrau von 
Orleans, with my classes, considering this 
drama, the best with which to begin the 
study of the German Classics. Of all the 
editions which have come to my knowledge 
during this time, the one just now edited 
by Dr. Benj. W. Wells is unquestionably 
the best. I rejoice that such an edition 
has come at last to gladden both students 
and teachers. 



GERMAN. 



29 



Goethe s Hermann und Dorothea. 



With introduction, commentary, bibliography and index to notes by Water- 
MANN T. Hewett, M. a., Ph. D., Professor of the German Language and Lit- 
erature in Cornell University. Cloth. 293 pages. Introduction price, 80 cts. 
Price by mail, 90 cents. 

THE present edition is based on Goethe's final revision as contained 
in his collected works, which were being published at the time of 
his death. It gives also the readings of the earlier editions. The 
editor, in the preparation of this edition, has sought to lead from the 
study of this poem to a larger knowledge of the language, and espe- 
cially to acquaintance with the thoughts of the author as illustrated in 
this and in his other writings. 

Hence the notes have not been confined to brief grammatical ex- 
planations, but an effort has been made to interpret the poem from 
the poet himself. The sources of the poem, the author's language and 
the language of the time have been carefully studied. The history of 
the composition of the poem has been shown more fully by the recent 
publications of the Weimar Goethe Society, especially as contained in 
Goethe's Diary and Letters, and use has been made of these fresh 
materials. 

It is believed that this edition will not only guide to an intelligent 
knowledge of the poem itself, but afford useful material for the critical 
study of the language and writings of the author. 



Dr. G. Von Loeper, the distinguished 
editor of Goethe's Works : Professor 
Hewett's edition of Hermann und Dor- 
othea has given me a very high opinion 
of the standard of literary studies in 
America. Professor Hev^ett in Amer- 
ica, and M. Chuquet in France have 
attained the highest plane of excellence 
in those studies in the domain of classical 
German. 

Prof. Edward Dowden, LL.D., 

of the University of Dublin^ a7id Presi- 
dent of the English Goethe Society: It 
seems to me admirable edited and very 
valuable both for student and teacher. 
I am exceedingly glad to have it among 
my Goethe books. 



Dr. C. Ruland, Director of the Goethe 
Museum in Weirnar: I have read your 
excellent introduction and looked through 
some of your notes and can only con- 
gratulate your countrymen on having 
Goethe's poem brought near to them in 
such a superior manner. Such editions do 
infinitely more good than a great deal of 
our dry-as-dust Goethe philology. 

H. H. Boyesen, Prof, Germanic 
Languages and Literature^ Columbia 
College^ New York: I have already de- 
monstrated my appreciation of Professor 
Hewett's excellent edition of Hermann 
und Dorothea by adopting it as a text- 
book in my classes. It is a beautiful 
book and exceedingly well done. 



GERMAN. 



Goethe s Dichtung und IVahrheit. 

First four Books. Edited especially for this Series, with Introduction and 
Notes, by C. A. Buchheim, Professor of German, King's College, London, and 
editor of the Clarendon Press Series of German Classics. Cloth. 339 
pages. Introduction price,^i.oo. Price by mail, ^i.io. 

DICHTUNG und Wahrheit furnishes desirable reading for German 
classes, because it represents some of Goethe's most finished 
prose, and because of its interest as valuable autobiographical informa- 
tion. Three books of this work are recommended by the Commission 
of New England Colleges to be used in preparation for entrance on 
advanced requirements in German. 

Goethe s Torquato Tasso. 

Edited by Calvin Thomas, Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures, 
Univ. of Michigan. 246 pages. Cloth. Price, by mail, 85 cents. Introduction 
price, 75 cents. 

THAT *' Torquato Tasso," one of Goethe's most important and 
characteristic works, has not hitherto been more generally read 
in American institutions of learning is doubtless due mainly to the 
fact that no satisfactory edition of the play was procurable. Pro- 
fessor Thomas has endeavored to make an edition befitting the present 
status of Goethe scholarship. The~ text is based upon a careful exam- 
ination of all the extant sources of information. An ample Introduc- 
tion describes the genesis of the drama, traces out its relation to its 
author's life, and discusses its ethical import. The notes are written 
not for the beginner in German who needs instruction upon the rudi- 
mentary facts of the language, but for students who are presumed to 
have acquired at least a budding interest in the higher aspects of Ger- 
man literature. 



H. C. G. Brandt, Prof, of German, 
Hai7tilton Coll.: The introduction is ex- 
cellent, and shows the thorough " Goethe 
Kenner." The notes are adapted to the 
needs of the grade of students that are 
able to undertake this masterpiece. 

Mod. Lang". Notes, Baltimore, Md.: 



The editor addresses himself rather to the 
student of literature, the student of Goe- 
the, than to the student of German lan- 
guage in and for itself. Considered 
from this point of view, the book must 
certainly be pronounced the best edition of 
a German Classic issued in this country. 



GERMAN. 



31 



Goethe s Faust. 



T 



Ersferund Zweiter Theil. Two volumes. Edited by Calvin Thomas, Pro- 
fessor of the Germanic Languages and Literatures, University of Michigan, 
Part I. Cloth. 43:5 pages. Introduction price, $1.12. By mail, ^1.25. 

HE distinctive feature of this edition of Faust — at least its most 



prominent distinctive feature — is that it presents the entire 
poem. Hitherto, although the First Part has been repeatedly edited, 
no complete edition of the work has been prepared for English-speak- 
ing students. The reason of this state of affairs is not hard to com- 
prehend ; it lies in the all too general neglect of the Second Part. 
Notwithstanding that this portion of the drama has been several times 
translated, and notwithstanding that individual scholars have long 
since felt its power and recognized its value, it has been slow in win- 
ning its way to the general favor that it deserves. 

It is believed that American students of Goethe will now welcome 
a complete American edition of the poefs great work. The vol- 
umes are edited throughout on philological principles. The aim is, 
first, to throw light upon real difficulties of the text ; at the same 
time the larger questions of criticism and interpretation are not neg- 
lected even if they must be treated briefly. \_Part IE in preparation. 

Kuno Francke, AssH, Prof, of Ger- 
man^ Harvard Univ., in " The Nation : 
It is not too much to say that of all the 



editions which thus far have appeared in 
this country or in England, this is by all 
odds the most scholarly and comprehen- 
sive. Its distinguishing feature is the 
spirit of directness and common sense 
that pervades it from beginning to end. 
It will mark an important step in the 
history of Goethe study in America. 

M. D. Learned, AssH, Prof of Ger- 
man^ John Hopkins Univ.: A vast stride 
forward in Faust study in America. This 
edition is marked by comprehensiveness 
of plan, wise selection of material, and 
clearness of statement. 

A. H. Palmer, Prof, of German 
Lang, and Lit., Yale Univ.: Beyond 
question the best edition with English 
apparatus. 



L. E. Horning, Prof, of German^ 
Victoria Univ. ^Toronto, Ont.: It is as per- 
fect as an edition of Faust can well be, 
and it is pleasant to find an editor who 
can be in full sympathy with his work 
without losing his balance. 

Henry B. Longden, Prof of Ger- 
man, De Pauw Univ.: I am delighted 
with it, and know of no edition comparable 
to it. I shall use it with my class. 

A. R. Hohlfeld, Prof, of German, 
Vanderbilt Univ.: I am delighted with 
the edition, which is not only eminently 
useful, but also a credit to the country. 
I have already introduced it. 

Literarisches Centralblatt, 

Leipzig: Wir wollen uns alles Bekrittelns 
enthalten, angesichts eines Buches, das 
im Ganzen durchaus lobenswerth er- 
scheint. 



Modern Languages. 



BOOKS FOR 

BEGINNERS. 



GERMAN. — Sheldon's Short Germa^t Grammar. (Price, 60 cents.) 

For those who liave studied other languages and wish to learn to read German. 

Harris' Ger77ian Lessons. ) Price, 60 cents.) 

An Elementary Grammar, adapted for a short course or as introductory. 

Joynes-Meissner German Grammar. 

Part I., "Shorter German Grammar," 80 cents; complete Grammar, ^1.12. 

yoynes' German Reader for Beginners, (Price, 90 cents.) 

An introduction to reading; with notes, vocabulary and English Exercises. 

Deutsche Select German Reader. (Price, 90 cents.) 

With notes and vocabulary. May be used with or without a grammar. 

Boisen^s Preparatory German Prose, (Price, 90 cents.) 
Excellent selections of prose with full suggestive notes. 

Van der Smissen's Grim7?t''s Mdrchen and Der Taucher, (75 cents.^ 
In Roman type. With full notes and vocabulary. 

Super'*s Andersen' s Mdrchen. (Price, 70 cents.) 
Graded, as far as possible, and with notes and vocabulary. 

Faulhaber^ s One Year Course in German. (Price, 60 cents.) 
A brief synopsis of German Grammar, with reading exercises. 

FRENCH. — Edgren's Compendious French Grammar. 

Part I., the essentials of French Grammar, 35 cents. Complete book, $1.12. 

Grandgenfs Short French Gra??imar. (Price, 75 cents ) 

An Elementary Grammar, adapted for a short course or as introductory. 

Grandgent''s Materials for French Composition. (12 cents each.) 
Pamphlets based on Super's Reader and other texts. 

Super^s Preparatory French Reader. (Price, 80 cents.) 

Graded and interesting reading for school or college. With notes and vocabulary. 

Houghton's French by Reading. (Price, ^1.12.) 
For home or school. Elementary grammar and reading. 

Lyo7i and de Larpent''s French Translation Book. (Price, 60 cents.) 
A very easy Reader with English exercises for reproduction. 

Joynes^ French Fairy Tales. (Price, 35 cents.) 

With notes, vocabulary and English exercises based on the text. 

ITALIAN. — Grandge7tt''s Short Italian Gra7n77iar, (Price, 80 cents./ 
All the Grammar needed for a short course. 
Graftdgent's Italian Composition. (Price 60 cents.) 

SPANISH. — Edgren's Short Spa7iish Grammar. (Price, 80 cent« ^ 
All the grammar needed for a short course. 

Todd's Cervantes' Don Quixote. (In press.)* 
Twelve chapters with notes and vocabulary. 

Ybarra's Practical Method in Spanish. (Price, ^1.20.) 



D. C. HEATH & CO., Publishers, 

BOSTON, NEW YORK, CHICAGO AND LONDON. 



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